Fade to Black
by RosarioVampireBoy
Summary: Who said there was no such thing as monsters? His duty, protect humans from those who wish harm upon them. His methods are brutal, his power is unstoppable, his identity is unknown and for young Julie she is about to be dragged into it all. They walk among humans, watching, waiting, protecting. He may feed on blood but that doesn't mean he's a bad guy right?
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

Fade to Black Prologue The Boy with the Red Eyes

Who said there was no such thing as monsters? They could be among us at any time and at any place and we wouldn't know it. What lies beyond the unknown is something humans can never find out. For one girl named Julie her life was about to be turned upside down after a chance encounter with a somewhat weird boy, but before that we need to go backwards two years to when her first encounter with the unknown began. The day started off like any normal Sunday morning, Julie had just gotten up and was about to head out to the local church down the street where a Christmas party was being held and just like her upstanding father she had decided to help set things up, but before she could leave she had to get her self prepared. After a quick shower she threw on a button up shirt, some nice, warm pants, her snow boots and a snug jacket so that she wouldn't freeze to death out in the snow, it was that cold. Once she had everything with her she slid down the stair handrail and hopped off right when she neared the end. "Bye dad, see you later." she told her father who was sitting at the dinner table with his paper open.

"Wait just a second, did you wash up? What about clean clothes and did you brush your teeth?"

"Dad, you know I take good care of yourself." she said with a smile.

"Of course, be careful and remember, be back before nightfall."

"I will, have a good day dad!" she yelled as she ran out the door.

That was just like her, ever since she was a kid she always had such a great spirit, it reminded him so much of her mother. He wasn't worried though she knew better than to drink and if any boys tried to take advantage of her he had showed her the proper way of taking care of them. Still he encouraged her to make friends instead of enemies.

To her surprise the snow hadn't reached the one inch mark yet so running through the winter wonderland on the way to the church was quite easy. She couldn't quite explain it but whenever she was in the snow or in the water or in the forest behind her house she always felt safe, as if something was watching over her. Oh well she couldn't think about that she had to reach the church before the opening ceremony started in exactly three minutes. When she arrived she was surprised to find that there were only three cars parked in the lot in front of the building, normally there were many others there but she guessed they were all late and just dismissed it. She couldn't wait to get inside and warm up, her face had already turned to into a ice cube. Once she approached the two large bronze doors with crosses on them she pushed them open and stepped inside where she took off her jacket. As usual Curtis, one of her fathers older co-workers, was stationed at the second doorway. "Hey Curts, do you know where everyone is at?" she asked.

"Yeah, some of them called and said they were going to be a bit late due to work, but at least your here, that's something." he replied as he handed her a pen.

She felt kind of bad that he had to sit there until everyone showed up, but she couldn't do much about that. Once she signed her name on the sign in sheet she opened the door to the church where all she saw were a few people scattered in the seats. Well, while she waited for the others to arrive she mind as well have a seat. Her normal seat was on column three row two, but it seemed someone had already taken her spot. She was a bit surprised since very few people were there, but still she could sit on the second row none the less.

As she sat down to relax she saw who was sitting in her spot, it was a boy who looked to be about her age with slicked back black hair, a sweater with a dark blue jacket over it, blue jeans and normal shoes. When she saw him she got a strange feeling that she had seen him somewhere before, like they had met. She wanted to ask if he was from her school but she could see he was to busy listening to his music. As she sat there she could hear him singing along quietly to his music.

"I will be your deadman, with nothing but this blood on my hand. Stuck in your wonderland, I want to make you bleed just like me. So make me your deadman, with with only poison in my veins. Stuck in your wonderland. Stagnated by the passivity I'm going to make you bleed like me."

In her mind that was a pretty strange song to be listening to while a church but to each their own. Finally after a few minutes of waiting people started flooding in as if they were in a hurry as the Father walked up on stage to his podium.

"My children, welcome for today is a great day indeed. Today is the day the great divine sent down his son as a gift to us mortals."

As she listen to his speech she couldn't help but notice that the boy sitting beside her still had not put away his music.

"Hey, could you please put that away?" she asked.

There was no getting to him, all she could do was bow her head and hope that no one thought they were friends. As she bowed her head she saw his head come up before he took off his headphones.

"Great, here we go." he said to himself as he stood up.

"Excuse me, Father, not to disrupt your speech or anything but you might want to move." he said as everyone's attention seemed to be drawn to him.

"What do you think your doing?!" she grunted as she stood up straight.

"Why should I move my son?"

Suddenly from the stain glass roof above the alter something fell right on through.

"Yeah, that's why." he said as he cracked his knuckles.

At first everyone seemed fine with what happened since no one was injured but suddenly a black mist started to cover the floor of the church as a voice echoed.

"Their all my children now..."

Suddenly everyone saw their Father's head flying through the air as blood gushed out of his neck and before them was something they had never seen before, a creature covered in black smoke with two bright yellow eyes and sharp claws. At that moment everyone became paralyzed with fear, as if it was holding them there.

"Heh, what a fool. To think, someone from God was killed so easily."

"Your Holiness!" one of the pastors yelled.

Once it turned its attention to its next victim Julie saw what looked like a whip covered in black flame wrap around his wrist. To her surprise when she turned her eyes she saw that the boy beside her wasn't frozen, in fact he was fighting back.

"Focus Nightmare, your fight is with me!" he said as he tugged on the whip which seemed to cause pain to the creature.

All of a sudden everyone could move. They didn't want to risk being killed so as soon as they got the chance everyone started running towards the doors.

"You will not interfere!" it roared.

With one flick of its hand a wave of black smoke flung everyone backwards including Julie. Was this how she was going to die? She hadn't even completed high school, he had so much more to live for. When she opened her eyes she found that instead of being crushed by rows upon rows of benches she was in the arms of the same boy who warned the Father, but he looked different. His hair was pearl white while his irises were both a bright ruby red and from his gritting teeth she saw see what looked like fangs.

"It's alright, your safe." he said as he kept a good hold of the whip that still had his enemies wrist.

Once he put her down she wanted to thank him but instead he threw back his hand and sent out a force that sent her out the broken doors.

"Go on, get out of here!" he exclaimed before he jumped off the ground and into battle.

From the outside people could hear yells of pain and agony as the church started to catch fire. As she stood at the bottom of the steps she heard her fathers voice come up behind her.

"Julie, are you ok?!" he asked as he looked over her face and arms for any injuries.

"I'm ok dad, but someone is still in there."

For two years she kept thinking back to the creature that killed the Father and the mysterious boy who saved her life that day.


	2. Chapter 2 New Arrival

Chapter 1 New Arrival

Well it was summer vacation, she had three months off and how was she going to spend it? Working at her local Walmart as a shelver. It wasn't the greatest job but if she wanted to buy her own things she had to make her own money and she couldn't do that without getting a job. As she prepared for work she could hear her father downstairs getting prepared to head to his job at City Hall. Unlike some men he was one who always wanted to be on time with fresh look. She had about twenty minutes to get to work which gave her plenty of time to pop in two Toster Scramblers before she headed out. "I see your up early." her father said as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Well I don't want to be late do I?" she replied with as she grabbed her breakfast.

"That's my girl, be careful out there and please don't stay out late." he pleaded.

"Got it, see ya!"

As soon as the door closed he sighed as he looked over at the family picture that sat on the small table across from him.

"She's just like you isn't she?"

While other days were quite warm this day seemed a big muggy. It was definetly humid and the sun couldn't be seen, but that didn't bother her, at least it wasn't raining. As she ran in the direction of the store she looked down at her watch and saw that it read 7:45 A.M. She was going to have plenty of time once she got there. Not only did the gym help her stay in shape but it also helped her become faster and to keep in shape she never drove her car to work, it was a good way to keep fit.

"Didn't the boss say that there was suppose to be someone new in today?" she thought to herself as she came up on the building.

Great, not only did she have to work but she also had to show a newbie how to do things. It wasn't that she hated new people but she was the one that always got stuck with them. As soon as she walked through the door she was greeted by her boss, a rather skinny man who had this weird obsession with flies and next to him stood a boy that wore their store uniform and had jet black hair with two bangs on each side of his head, blue eyes, and stood a little over her height.

"Ah, Ms. Thompson your early as usual." her boss said as she approached him.

"Always am sure, I don't want to make a bad impression don't I Mr. Anderson.?"

"Good girl, now as you are aware we have a new personnel in today. This is Darren Rabnit, he will be working along side you as your partner of sorts so please get along."

"Wait, he's going to be working with me? But sir I thought I would be working alone. That's what I was told when I applied here."

"Correct, but he also applied for this position so he will be working with you. Don't worry I'm sure you both will be friends."

She didn't know, just from looking at him she got a pretty creepy feeling about him. She had sworn she had seen him before. While she drowned in her own thoughts she hadn't even seen that Darren had moved so he was standing right in front of her.

"Heyo, I take it your Julie?" he asked as he extended his hand.

He seemed friendly enough, he presented himself in a dignified way and his attitude seemed right.

"Yep, would you like the tour now or later?" she asked.

"Nah, it's ok I know this store like the back of my hand. Though I would like to see where I will be spending most of my time."

"Your work station?"

"Bingo, if you don't mind that is."

"Of course not, it's much faster to take you straight there anyways."

What a relief, the number one thing she hated doing was giving a tour of the store since it was so big with very little changes over the two years she had been working there.

"So Darren, are you new to town?"

"Nope, I've been here every since I was a kid."

"Which high school did you go too?"

"Oh Magnolia High, the many bullies and jocks that tried to act tough."

"There were wasn't there?" she said as she let out a little giggle.

"Oh yes, I remember Tony Larson, he took my math homework one day and tore it up until it was transparent fog."

As they talked she started to see what he was all about. Kind, that's what she got from him so far. As they passed the onion stand she saw that he had stepped closer to her as if he was afraid of them.

"Your allergic to onions?"

"Yeah, it's pretty bad too. It's alright though. Oh hey look."

Just as he had pointed it out they stopped as they stood before the check out counter at the back of the store where the movies and video games were.

"Heh, awesome. So you work in the electronic entertainment department too?"

"Yep, for two years I will tell you. It was getting kind of boring back here by myself though."

Suddenly she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders before he pulled her close.

"Excellent, together we will be the masters of~!"

"Putting things on shelves then walking away?"

"Nice, yes we shall be that then." he replied as he let her go only to pat her back before he started walking towards the video game section.

He was pretty weird and she couldn't shake that creepy feeling, but at least he was nice. That was a step up from the last newbie.


	3. Chapter 3 Man or Monster

Chapter 3

Man or Monster

The day seemed to go by slower than usual that day, but when two-thirty P.M hit it was time for them to go. Her shift was over and whoever was suppose to take her place would be arriving shortly. Not only that but she was starving. Ever since ten her stomach had been growling so loud that it sounded like some kind of beast. Well the good thing was that she had plenty of places to choose from, from McDonald's food court to Tai Wang's Sushi bar they had in the back. Tai Wangs was probably the most expensive though so in the end she had to go with McDonalds, even though she knew she would have to work off the food.

Having to put up DVDs and CDs in the respected places may have sounded easy but it was actually quite difficult when it came to her energy. Having to run up and down the different isles to put them in the right spots definitely took some out of her but until she could graduate from college it was all she had to make her own money. If there was one thing she didn't want to do it was borrow money from her father, after all he worked harder than she did to get his earnings.

Once she had her order, just a normal cheese burger, some fries, and a drink she sat down to enjoy her meal when she heard a familiar voice come up behind her.

"Oh ho what's up Julie?"

When she turned around she saw the new guy walking into the establishment. Over the past few hours she had been observing just how efficient he could do his job and from what she saw he seemed pretty good at it. His legs weren't buckling from standing all that time and he still had on his face that smile he had when they first met.

"Mind if I sit with you today?" he asked as he grabbed his trey.

All she did was shake her head as she took a bite of her burger. He seemed to be in a pretty cheery mood. Perhaps something was happening when he got home. Whatever it was it sure kept that smile on his face. As he unwrapped his burger she noticed that he began picking out the onions from the sandwich with his napkin.

"What are you going to do with those?" she asked as she sat down her own meal.

"Well I am allergic to onions. They just don't fit right in my stomach you know? If I even so much as touch them with my bare hands they swell up." he said as he tossed them aside.

"You swell up when you touch an onion? Never heard of that."

"Oh yeah my hand becomes like a balloon if I even touch one."

In all her years she had never heard of anyone who was allergic to onions, but there was a first time for everything right?

"So do you go to school around here?" she asked.

"Not really. I've been home schooled for most of my life and since I'm almost done with high school I figure why not stick it out. I might go to college though, I heard the parties can get pretty wild." he replied as he took a sip of his soda.

"Heh you do know that college is meant for learning right?"

"Yep, but who says that you can't have a bit of fun am I right?"

Their conversation seemed to have been going well when they heard someone yelling not too far away. When they looked through the glass they saw someone running towards the exit with a hoodie to cover his face and a backpack in one hand and behind him were two out of shape security guards.

"Stop come back here!" one yelled.

As he closed in on their location she saw Darren get up from his seat before he looked around the corner like he was waiting to strike. Oh no, he wasn't planning what she thought he was planning was he? If so he could be in a world of trouble with that guy.

"Are you insane? What if he's armed?"

"No problem, just watch and learn."

She wanted to pull him back but at the same time she didn't want to get involved. She might have not known him for that long but she didn't want to see one of her fellow employees get hurt or worse killed. The look on his face though was kind of weird, he looked determined to stop this guy. If the guy was armed could he really disarm him?

"Come on dumbass...time to get what you deserve."

Just as he passed the entrance he simply stuck his foot out and watched as the guy tripped over his foot, the backpack filled with merchandise began sliding across the floor as did the man. He wasn't done yet though, before he could get up he ran over to the backpack and grabbed it.

"Hah I win you lose!" he gloated.

When the man got up he half expected him to pull out a knife or a gun but all he did was look up at him before he ran out the door. It looked as if he was too much of a pansy to deal with the security guards who had just arrived to retrieve the stuff that had been stolen.

"Here ya go, everything should still be in there." he said as he tossed the bag over to them

Just to make sure they looked through the bag just to make sure the punk hadn't taken anything out of it before his little fall.

"Alright looks like everything is here. Good work son." the larger man said as he patted his back.

"All within a days work." he replied as he gave them a respectful bow.

As they walked away Julie came running over to make sure he hadn't gotten hurt. The number one rule was to always watch out for each other and if someone was hurt to do whatever it would take to help them. He looked fine though, no scratches or cuts just a slightly dusty shirt.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I think so. Do I look fine?" he asked.

All she did was roll her eyes and punch his arm for being a dummy. Since they were both going home at the same time they decided to walk together until they had to part ways. Once he dusted his shirt off and she grabbed her purse from her locker they were all set to go.

"So where do you live if you don't mind me asking?"

"Right there almost at the intersection of Birch and Palo."

"Huh so you're not too far away from me I guess." she replied as she adjusted her purse strap.

As they walked he began to notice something attached to her purse. It looked like an old NES controller keychain.

"Your a gamer eh?"

"What, oh this? Yeah I guess you could say I'm one. I do go to the arcade once in a while when I'm not too busy."

"Get out so do I!"

"Really at what times?"

"Between one and four. Wave Race."

"Wave Race, what's your high score?"

"Two hundred thousand points."

"How do you get that much?!" he asked.

She couldn't believe that very same morning they were strangers and now they were talking about video games and high scores like two nerds. Just as they rounded the corner though he was grabbed and pulled into an alley where the very same boy in the hood pushed him against a wall before he took out his knife.

"Oh hey jackass. Did you miss me?"

"Quite! You cost me some money and now your going to go back and get it for me."

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Quickly she opened up her purse to find her phone so she could call the police. She searched and searched but couldn't find it. When she finally got it she hid behind the corner and dialed for the police station.

"Yes please my friend is in trouble. He's being held up at knife point and..."

Just before she could finish she heard a loud thump against the ground.

"Damn punk." she heard.

Quickly she looked around the corner to find a horrific sight. The boy she had just met had a knife stuck right in the center of his chest as blood ran over the ground. Her hand trembled as she drooped her phone. She could only watch as his body was kicked over and over again before the boy began walking towards the sidewalk.

"What am I going to do?" she thought to herself.

If he saw her then he would know that she saw him and if it was any indication she would end up like Darren. Just when it seemed hopeless that she would be caught she heard a voice that she thought was impossible. When she looked back around the corner she saw her once dead from up on his feet with the knife still in his chest.

"W-What the fuck man! You should be dead!" the boy said as he backed up.

All he did was grab the knife and pull it out before the wound in his chest sealed itself up.

"You know blood from humans taste so much better than our own blood. It's much more...refreshing." he said as he licked the blood from the knife.

Those eyes, those were the same eyes she had seen two years ago. Both were glowing red as he took a deep breathe. When he opened his mouth she could see two sharp fangs as well. It couldn't be could it?

"Back the fuck up man or I'll shoot!" the boy said as he grabbed his gun.

"Go ahead, use that weapon on me and see what happens." Darren said as he grinned at him.

With one finger he pulled the trigger and let look three bullets that hit him in the forehead. Blood went everywhere but he still stood there as the bullets dissolved before the holes closed up. His body began to tremble as he dropped his gun. His legs, he couldn't move them!

"Now what I would do to you would reflect poorly on me after all I am a very reasonable guy..."

As he moved closer his body began to freeze up. Just looking into those eyes struck him with fear. His body jumped when he was grabbed and shoved against the wall.

"I hope you're ready for your punishment."

As that mouth opened those fangs shined in the daylight. With one breathe of air he let out the most terrifying sound he had ever heard, a roar that echoed through the alleyway. The closer he was pulled him him the faster his fear began to raise before it finally got the better of him. He couldn't take it anymore and so he passed out.

"Sleep tight..."

He got what he deserved. As soon as he threw him to the ground the smell of sweet blood began to fill his nostrils. Before she could be caught though she took off down the street. What had she just witnessed?


	4. Chapter 4 Secret Under the City

Chapter 3

The Secret Under the City

Had it all been just a dream? The red eyes and that horrifying screech that she had heard, was it all just part of her imagination? No she must have been too tired and must have been hearing things right? That screech though, it still dwindled within her mind. If what she had seen did in fact happen then was she truly safe around him? Sure he might have told her to run but what if he just wanted her all to himself? Even during work her mind continued to process questions.

"Julie, hello?" she heard.

When she snapped out of it she found herself in front of the DVD racks with a newly released DVD in her hand. When she looked over however she saw Darren just kind of staring at her as he placed the movies in their correct spots. She had to get a hold of herself if she didn't want her boss to get on her again about being lazy.

"Y-Yeah, just a bit tired is all." she replied back as she placed the movie on the shelf.

"Ok...but you looked like you were spaced out. Did something happen?" he asked.

This was the question she most definitely didn't want to answer, but if she didn't he would probably begin to suspect that something was up. She was going to have to be careful with how she answered.

"Um I was just wonder what happened to the thug yesterday. Did he hurt you?"

"Him, are you kidding me? I sent him running down the street like a pansy. I even took his knife when he dropped it." he said with a chuckle as he moved down the row.

Obviously he was lying, kind of, but she still wanted to know if he truly wanted her to run in order to keep her from getting caught or to save her as his dinner. She thought back though and remembered him saying something about him doing something that he wouldn't have been proud of, was it that he couldn't kill the guy?

As the hands of her watch passed the time of their release drew closer and closer. If she was to find out what he truly was she had to follow him. Even if it was dangerous she had to know what what in the hell she was working with. If he was a threat or not or if he was what would she do if he decided to turn against her? As soon as the buzzer went off on her watch though her mind had been made up, she was going to follow him.

"Catch ya tomorrow alright?" he said to her as he waved goodbye.

"See ya..."

If she was going to do this she had to be as quiet as a mouse and if he spotted her she would have to be prepared for him reaction. She didn't know if it would work but ever since she applied for a job at the supermarket she had always carried around a can of pepper spray that her father had given her just in case she got into a snap. Hopefully she wouldn't need to use it. Her eyes continued to focus on her as she followed him down the sidewalk. The city was just a ghost town due school still being in session and adults still working at their jobs so thanks to that she didn't look like a clown.

It seemed that she had slipped his radar as she hid behind the trash cans that lined the streets. It wasn't until she saw him walk down a nearby alleyway that things got a bit more interesting. She still had to be careful though as she quietly walked over to the wall and stood flat against wall. It wasn't until she looked up and over that things got a bit more strange.

"Huh, the old underground factory?"

Why would he be going there? It use to produce car parts but ever since she was fourteen it had been shut down. Once she looked back and forth she began walking down the stairs towards the end where all that sat was a wall, but there seemed to be a door to her left. He must have went in through there right? The answer came when she pulled on the handle. Just as she had figured, it had been locked after it shut down. Where had he gone though? Was there a secret entrance somewhere? She moved her hand to the wall in front her her but when she touched it her touch sent a ripple across the entire wall.

"No way."

She touched it once more and just as before a ripple formed and moved across the stone wall. What was this? Was this some kind of trick? Had he set it up to trap her? Well she wasn't going to find out by standing there. Once she grabbed her pepper spray she pushed her hand against the wall only to have it sink in. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to go in after all. For all she knew those teeth he had showed off could have been fake and those red eyes could have been done with contacts. However fate didn't agree with her for when she turned around she was knocked straight into the wall by a group of large men.

"Whoa sorry missy." one of them said as the walked passed her.

The sound of loud music filled her eats as bright lights shined everywhere. Voices were coming from every direction as she stood up to see exactly where she had ended up. What she saw almost made her face light up. Strippers were everywhere, a D.J was spinning his records, lights were shining all over the place, but most of all at the other end of the room was a giant screen that displayed every part of their city.

"I've got to get out of here." she said to herself.

But the second she turned her back the lights all stopped and everything went dark until a few separate light popped on. She tried to find her way back but instead she found herself walking down the walkway that lead into the crowd, it was that dark. There were people everywhere but all looked fairly normal. Suddenly upon the stage a girl with pearl white hair and red eyes stepped up and took the microphone in hand.

"Welcome back everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the club so far, what do you say?!"

The place erupted with cheers that echoed throughout the large building. What were they all doing there and who was that girl up there?

"So what do you say we shed our skin? It must get pretty uncomfortable inside those human forms right?"

What she saw next both terrified her but also poked at her curiosity. Every ones flesh vanished to reveal many, many monsters that she thought impossible. Werewolves, zombies, and many other creatures began to litter the floor as they all let out one loud roar. Something told her she should have been afraid but at the same time to not fear them.

"Come on D,J let's get this place bumping!" one of the boys said that stood next to the girl.

It seemed they were there to party that was until a buzzer began going off on the large screen in front of all them all.

"Looks like we have another invader here guys. Who should we pick to go up there and teach them a lesson?"

The surprises didn't stop there though for when she asked that question her co-worker jumped up onto the stage.

"Oh come on sis you know I got this! What do you say everyone want to see this beast splatter?!"

Her eyes were focused only on him as his form also began to fade. That pearl white hair, their ruby red eyes and that black jacket/cloak that he had on. He had to be him, the same boy from two years ago.

"Are you sure about that? After all you'll be taking on a class B monster and with the sun out and bright your power will be limited."

"Please, what task can't a vampire handle am I right?!"

In a blink of an eye he vanished into a puff of black smoke as the girl walked over and sat down in her chair. If it really was him she wanted to know exactly what he was doing. As she pushed through everyone she saw that many of them were placing money on the stage. Were they betting?

"Alright Jerell pull up camera four and we will get sta~."

She stopped in her tracks as her eyes met the girls. She tried to move but she couldn't as she jumped down from the stage and began walking towards her.

"Well it seems we have a special guest here. I don't think I've ever seen you here. Mind telling us your name?" she asked as she moved the microphone to her mouth.

"J-Julie." she shuddered.

Strangely enough those eyes of hers were both fierce but also gentle at the same time.

"Julie huh, well why don't you toss that form aside? You've got nothing to hide."

"I...can't." she admitted.

"You can't why is tha...oh wait. Are you what I think you are?" she asked.

She struggled to answer, but it seemed Jerell wanted to do it for her.

"It looks like we have a human up in here guys!"

Her heart skipped a beat when he said that into the microphone. What was he thinking? Did he want to get her killed? Strange enough though no one seemed to want to attack her.

"Throw her out!" someone said in the back.

"Hey Dugey shut up and drink you prune juice!" Jerell yelled back.

"Quiet! You, come with me." she said as she grabbed her wrist.

What was going to happen to her? Was she destined to be a snack for all these monsters? She didn't want to go out being a snack. When they stopped though they had merely moved to the side of the stage.

"Ok Julie how did you get in here?"

"I, I followed my friend Darren and then someone pushed me through the wall and I ended up here."

"Pushed you through the wall, but how? Unless, Rorik check the barrier! Make sure its working properly!"

Her knees shook a bit as her heart began to race. She wanted to run but knew that if she tried she would only be sealing her fate.

"Are you, going to kill me?"

"Huh, kill you? Are all you humans like that? No wonder no one feels safe exposing themselves up there. Look just remember that no one here is going to hurt you. Now if you will excuse me I've got a show to run." she said as she jumped up onto the stage.

Was it true? Did they mean no harm to her or was she just pulling her leg.

"Come on, if you really want to see what we are all about come up here." she said as she offered her a hand with a smile.

If what she had said was true then she hadn't anything to fear, but what if she was just pulling her leg? Her hand trembled as she took the girls hand and with one pull she was lifted off the ground and onto the stage where she stood before many monsters.

"It looks like we have a special guest up on stage today. What do you all say that we show her how well roll here?" Jerell asked the crowd as she stuck the microphone out.

Show her? Show her what exactly?

"Pay attention to the screen and all will become clear. By the way the names Ela."

Everyone looked up at the screen as their vampire friend stood there in the middle of the street waiting for his pray.


	5. Chapter 5 Alucard

Chapter 4

Alucard

How long was she planning on making him wait? For all he knew the beast could have already passed through the barrier and if anyone saw it then their secret would be out. She had told him that it was located at Sullivan Road but yet he saw no monster to slice and dice. Luckily for him people and children were still at school and at work and with no cars driving up and down the street his secret was safe. At least the sky was clear but that sun, he could done without it.

"Alright Jerell are you ready?" asked Ela as she pushed her key into the ignition.

"Am I never?"

Everyone attention seemed to be on the screen as Ela's hand hovered over the big red button that sat right next to the computer. Julie however was completely confused. What were they doing? As these questions ran through her noggin she felt a large hand grab her around the waste and pull her from the stage.

"Take a load off human, just watch and enjoy the show." the cyclops said as he placed her on his shoulder.

"What are they planning?"

"Oh you'll see in just a second."

As soon as both Ela and Jerell nodded at each other she pressed the red button, which seemed to do nothing. Strange, but when she looked up at the screen that didn't seem to be the case. On the screen they could see Darren standing in the street and the monster wasn't too far ahead but all around him the buildings began to break apart and reform. Skyscrapers morphed and twisted all around as the sky turned red while the ground below them began to crack open to reveal a sea of red water below.

"Wait no what are you doing?!" exclaimed Julie as she attempted to jump off the shoulder.

"Relax Julie, your world is safe from harm. Let me introduce you to Counter City." said Jerell.

"Counter what?"

"You see while some of us tend to stay away from humans some monsters tend to make humans their balanced diet and this city is just one big platter for them to chow down in. So to prevent them from harming any humans we placed an invisible barrier around the entire city that will warn us when monsters with negative intentions enter." explained Ela.

"But the city."

"It's a mere replica of it but without the people. When we push that button it activates the barrier which sends the select few that we choose into this world by means of Barrier Tracking. Once their inside they duke it out until one dies or forfeits."

All the information was starting to hurt her brain, but what she got from it was that a replica city was made, Darren and the beast was inside this city and now they were going to fight.

"But wait what if he doesn't win?"

"What my brother? Please he is such a hard head that even if he loses an arm he will grow another and keep fighting."

Their conversation was interrupted however by Jerell who had both pulled up on the screen.

"Alright let's get to work." she said as she put on her headset.

Back outside Darren had just spotted the ugly beast before him. It looked like some kind of dino but not exactly. Its head seemed to be armored and it had four eyes that seemed to not have noticed him yet and finally, the think reeked! Good god it smelled worse than onions did. Though this thing was a B class so he had to be careful. As the sun bared down on him he could already feel his power being cut in half, but that didn't matter he didn't need it all to take down this thing.

"Can you hear me brother?" he heard Ela asked inside his head.

"Loud and clear."

"Good now you remember what your objective is right?"

"Try and make him forfeit and if he doesn't tear out his heart."

"Correct now get going."

Well here he was again. Facing yet another douche who was trying to interfere with the humans lives. As he approached it he heard a soft growl come from it before it turned around to face him, that mouth drooling something fierce.

"Who are you?" it asked slowly.

"I'm here to take you to prom my dear. Shall we go?" he replied.

As soon as it heard that he let out a loud roar, but even when it opened its mouth he didn't even flinch. He just stood there like he didn't give a care if it roared at him or not, all that he knew was its heart would be his by the time the fight was over.

"Who the fuck are you!" it roared as acid gushed from its mouth.

"Too slow."

In a blink of an eye he was gone. The acid ate through the concrete but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Where are you boy?" it growled.

Its eyes scanned its surroundings but found no trace of movement that was until it heard someone breathing heavily behind it. He hadn't run away instead he was merely sitting on its tail while the green fire caused him to sweat.

"Whew, I tell you what there's nothing like working up a good sweat. It gives you that energy you know?"

It wasn't going to take that. With a flick of its tail it sent him flying only for him to land back on his feet right in front of it.

"Awe man look what you did? You burnt my jacket." he said as he showed him the scorch marks.

Oh he knew what was coming next. He always enjoyed a good fight and the only way to get one was to get the bastards as pissed as possible. Although this one seemed to take less time when it began firing out shots of acid at him. With his flash step ability though he couldn't be touched by the liquid.

"Oh and the name by the way is Alucard, but if you want you can call me Alucard the Rouge Killer. How does that sound?" he said with a smirk.

"Alucard? The son of Vlad and Eva?!"

All he did was bow and in a flash the beast had a giant grin across its face.

"Hahah now this is the freaking best. Now I can add one of the legendary vampires to my collection, once I cut off your head that is."

Such a confident monster, he liked that. The more confident it was the better the fight would be. He was interrupted though when he heard Jerell.

"Hey Al just so you know we got one of your little friends here."

"Oh really? Who is it? Let me guess, it's Gidwani right?" he replied as he dodged the beasts sharp claws.

"Nope, it's some girl named Julie."

As soon as he heard the name he stopped.

"Wait what?!"

Too bad he had left his guard down. In the split second he was sent flying back into one of the school buildings.

"Hah what's wrong little boy? Too weak to fight Diagrul?" the beast laughed.

He wasn't finished yet though, not by a long shot.

"I'll talk to you in a bit." he said angrily as he stood up.

Once he pushed the rubble off from his body he brushed his jacket off before faced Diagrul.

"You must be so determined to kill me eh?" he said as he disappeared.

"To battle a creature so determined as you..."

Its four eyes followed him as he kept reappearing until he was face to face with him.

"Would be my honor." he said as he exposed his fangs.

"What?!"

With one punch from his fist he sent the beast flying back and across the ground. At first it looked as if it was going to slide off the edge and into the red sea below but instead it used its sharp tail to stop itself before it could reach the edge.

"So its true, your kind do possess great strength. Even in sunlight you can still hit with such force." Diagrul groaned as it jumped back to its four legs.

"Yeah, do you like?" he teased as he got into his fighting position.

"Hell yeah, too back your finished here!"

All he did was watch as spikes began shooting from its tail and on the tips were little drops of acid. If he even got poked by one of those his insides would be turned to much, but that wasn't going to happen. As soon as he flash stepped around them all he began running towards it, but it wasn't giving up so easily. This time it fired off both three acid shots and fifty needles at him.

"Hah nice trick now let me show you my own!"

With one kick off the ground he flipped over all of them before he drove both fists into its shielded cranium.

"Looks like you've been exposed." he said with a grin.

With that solid attack his skull was now vulnerable to to attack.

"Argh, damn it boy what did you do?!" it roared as it stood back up.

"You know I just kind of punched you. No big deal."

As soon as it stood up he saw that it was getting ready to charge as a final attack. It didn't matter though for with speed it would have better luck trying to catch a cheetah. Well then it was time to pull out his secret weapon. Once it began charging he held out his hand as a blade of pure black fire formed inside of it.

"What is that?!" it thought as it charged.

"Final move..." he said as his eyes began to glow brighter.

With one wave of his blade a blast of fire engulfed the creature.

"Hellfire's Roar... take it deep!"

The sounds of the beasts cries sent a jolt of joy through his body. Oh how he loved to see those who meant harm towards others to suffer. He wanted to gobble up some humans and now he was gobbling up some flames. As the flames began to die down he jumped on top of its chest and grinned.

"W-What are you doing?" it grunted.

"Just picking up a meal."

With both hands he dug into its chest before he began feeling around. No matter how much Diagrul moved he never let go until he had a hold of what he wanted.

"Don't hold this against me alright bro? You were just a bit of a douche."

With one last tug he tore open its chest and pulled out its beating heart.

"Oh my god..." said Julie as she covered her mouth.

She thought she was going to vomit when she saw him sever the heart from the creature, however Alucard wasn't nauseated at all. As soon as Diagrul's body collapsed into ashes he sank his fangs into the organ and began sucking out all its blood. Everyone else was cheering but from what Julie just saw she didn't know if she felt safe around him or not.


	6. Chapter 6 Her Fate

Chapter 5

Her Fate

What she had just witnessed she could never forget. The sight of him digging into that things chest and pulling out that large heart as blood covered his arms. The sight of him sucking the organ clean of all blood, just thinking about it almost made her want to vomit. She didn't know what to think anymore? Was this really how he was? He saved the city from Diagrul sure but did he have to do it in such a gruesome way? As soon as she was placed back onto the stage the music began to pick back up as Ela and Jerell sat their headsets down.

"Alright shut it down." Ela said to him as she looked over to Julie who seemed to be in her own thoughts.

As she figured, she couldn't handle it. Perhaps it was wrong to keep her there after all.

"Hey Juls are you ok?" she asked.

"Huh, oh yeah I'm fine." she said.

She was a liar. Just from looking at her body she could tell that her hands were shaking, but the question was was it from fear or from shock?

"I know you aren't use to all of this but you have to understand that we do this to keep you all safe from the rogues. If we didn't then everyone in the city would be an all you can eat buffet for these things."

"But, in such a gruesome manner?"

"Oh that, you will have to forgive us. We tend to be a bit more violent towards those who threaten the city. Don't worry though your heart won't be taken or anything." she said as she tried to reassure her that she would be OK.

As the memory flashed before her eyes she couldn't even speak. That had been the most disgusting she had ever seen in her entire life.

"Hey cheer up Julie, at least he beat them. Trust me when I say that it would have caused a lot more harm if we let it go."

Suddenly the music stopped as the lights cut on. On the other side of the room Alucard stood with an angry look on his face. Everyone knew what to do when he started walking, simply make a path for him. His footsteps echoed through out the building as he walked through the crowd. Julies heart rate was beginning to increase as he got closer and closer.

"Ok brother now just take a deep breathe and calm down." his sister said as he jumped up onto the stage.

"Save it. Jerell never distract me during battle again."

Then his eyes turned to her.

"And you, what in the living hell are you doing here?!"

As much as she wanted to tell him no words came from her mouth when she tried to speak.

"Apparently she followed you here bro." Ela said in an annoyed tone.

"Wait, you followed me here? Why?" he asked as the angry expression began to lift.

"Well I, I saw what happened with you and the thief yesterday. You didn't look like yourself. You look like you do..."

"Now? What do you expect. Jerell would you open the barrier." he said as he sat down in one of the chairs.

In his mind he didn't know what to think anymore. He had tried to keep his secret from her but she found out anyways.

"Look Julie your a nice person but I think it would be best if you don't come around here anymore."

"Now wait just a second mister. Isn't this what we strive for? Understanding between humans and monsters?" said Ela.

"True but you know how humans are. They judge from what they see on the outside. Just look at her, she's trembling."

"That's because you two haven't bonded yet. What if she became your partner?"

"Hm, no veto." he said as he got back up.

"Come on at least try it." she begged.

"Look even if she was my partner she wouldn't be able to hold in her breakfast." he said as he jumped to one of the booths in front of the stripper pole.

As usual he was ignorant and hardheaded. She didn't mind having Julie around but he was probably right about her losing her breakfast, although she seemed to have calmed down.

"Here I'll escort you out." offered Ela as she took her hand.

As they walked something strange started to happen though. The more she thought about what he had done to that creature the more use to it she got. Her stomach no longer churned when she saw a mental image of him pulling out the heart. It was strange but it felt as if it wasn't all that unnatural to her now. As they both made their way through the crowd she looked back at Alucard who had his eyes on the two strippers who were dancing around the pole as the music began to play once more.

"You'll have to excuse me brother he can be a bit of a handful at times."

"It's alright. I can understand why he would be mad." replied Julie as they stepped through the barrier.

"Oh don't worry he'll warm up to you. He may seem like a big hard-head and he is but he does have a heart of gold, or at least silver. My suggestion is try and get to know him better."

"Alright I can try. By the way what was that about a partner in there?"

"Oh that, yeah I'll explain that to you another time, but just so you know we are not all foul creatures like you humans think we are. I'll leave that with you to ponder."

After she disappeared through the wall again he made her way back up the steps where she saw her normal city. Cars were passing by and people began to get off from their jobs. What Ela said to her though really stuck with her, maybe if she did get to know monsters better perhaps she wouldn't feel as strange as she did earlier. Tomorrow was her day off and if she wanted her to hang out with her brother so that trust could be built between them then that's what she would do.


	7. Chapter 7 Hook Line and Sinker

Chapter 6

Hook Line and Sinker

Why him? Why did it have to be him? He could have been chilling at the club or in his room but nope, he was on his way to his own Hell. Oh how he loathed his sister for convincing Julie to take him with them. Was she mentally insane? Was she trying to kill him? Whatever was going through her head at the moment though he couldn't change the fact that he was on his way to a place of torture, he was on his way to a water park. Just the thought of being in there gave his legs a shiver. She knew about their condition so why did she want him to go? Hell why did she want to go?

All he could do was look out the window of the passing buildings as they rode a city bus to downtown. What was worse was the fact that he was sitting next to his coworker who's blood smelled so sweet. Even though he was born with the same curbed appetite for blood as his parents when blood smelled as good as hers he had to have a bite. She was asleep so if he was careful maybe he could get a sip. There weren't many people on the bus so without any thought he leaned over towards her exposed neck and bared his fangs only to have his head get hit by a soda can.

"Don't you even think about it..." his sister said as she glared at him.

"Come on just a sip?"

All she had to do was glare at him with those soul piercing eyes in order to force him back to his previous position. Out of all the members in their family she was probably one of the most talented. She may not have been as fast as her brother but she was pretty damn flexible and with her might axe she could delivery twice the amount of damage that his sword could. Also she was scary at some points, very scary.

"Don't you think this may be a bad idea? What about your condition?" Jerell whispered.

"I got it covered. All we need to go is get him to trust her then we can go home. Besides it will be funny to watch him squirm for once." she replied.

"But he's your brother don't you want what's best for...him?"

Great now he was getting the stare.

"Alright it's cool. Let's just stick to the plan."

How he became her partner still stumped him after three years, but there he was. Sometimes though he wished he could of just turned into a mouse and scurry out of there before the ritual was completed, but then again she was pretty hot. Oh well, the past was the past and he could only hope the future would be a bit more forgiving.

As they drew near the park the sleeping beauty herself began to awaken from her slumber. The sounds of peoples screams as they slid down the water slides and rode the many rides around the park grounds began to get louder as they looked out the windows.

"Oh wow..." Julie gasped.

"What, you've been here before right?" asked Ela.

"Yeah but that was when I was eight. I completely forgot how much fun this place looked." she said.

The memories of her and her father and their times at the park when she was just a child began to flood back. How they use to ride the water coaster and play all the games, those were the day. Times changed however and when her father began working more the fun times at the park stopped.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot. I went by and got you a little something Julie." said Ela as she pulled out a small shopping bag.

"Oh what is it?"

Once she had it she opened it up and looked inside. What followed was a extremely red face.

"What is this...?" she asked as her hands shook.

"It's just a little something. You've got to flaunt what you got girl."

"But I've already got one."

"Use that one and I guarantee things will go your way."

What was she thinking? That thing wasn't a swim suit. She would have been better off with a corn ship and two dimes. Just looking at that thing made her blush. When she saw Alucard trying to take a peak however it was apparent that it struck it curiosity. Was this what she was going to wear while trying to gain his trust?

"Huh, I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff." he said as he looked at her in a funny way.

Finally the bus stopped and of course the first one off what their little human friend. She couldn't wear such a thing could she? The only thing she would look like was a stripper. Oh no what if they asked her to become a stripper at their club?! She couldn't do it!

"Alright time to get changed." Ela announced.

Luckily for both Ela and Julie the woman's changing room was inside another building while the mens were across from them so they didn't have to worry about them peeking. As she changed into her own bikini Ela noticed that her friend wasn't going for the bikini she bought for her.

"Now Julie you want him to trust you right? You've got to get his attention. Didn't you see his reaction to your suit? If you wear that his attention will be yours then you can talk to him."

"Yeah but won't I look a bit...you know..."

"Slutty? Some people may think that but that's their opinions. Come on just give it a shot and if he doesn't fall for it then you can use your old lame swim suit."

Well if it would get his attention so they could talk then maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but still. After both Alucard and Jerell finish changing into their trunks they stepped out into the open to find so many hot mommas all around. Even when surrounded by water though Alucard could still find some enjoyment in the park even if it was admiring all the babes around.

"Oh dude check her out." said Jerell as he pointed him in the direction of the lation girl.

"Oh damn, although her blood smells a little strange."

"Oh come on man let the blood go and just got for it."

Their viewing pleasure was halted however when they heard Ela's voice.

"What are you two looking at?"

They tried not to look at her in fear that she would give them the stare again but when they turned their heads not only their faces but their entire bodies began turning red. What in the hell were they wearing?! Were those even considered bikinis?! The tops barely covered any of their breasts and they didn't even want to think of how much their bottoms covered.

"So what do you think?" asked Ela as she approached her shapeshifting friend.

"You uh you look good." he admitted.

If they were to both survive this day they both had to hold only their pride with all they had. Although by the look on Alucards face it seemed that his senses were going crazy. When he glanced down at her bikini top he noticed something that he hadn't noticed before, the words "Milk Duds" were written across the material.

"Come on keep it together man! I'm a vampire, I can't fall for such cheap, slutty, sexy..."

Yep he was gone, that outfit had taken him in and now that was all he could think about until he turned back around to face Julie who seemed even more embarrassed than he was.

"Do, do you like it?" she asked as she hugged her body.

"Y-Yeah, it l-looks great on you." he replied as he tried to keep his composure.

Not only did her blood smell sweet but now she looked like a swim suit model. It was going to be a long day in Hell for them both.


	8. Chapter 8 The Truth

Chapter 7

The Truth

So what were they going to do? With his condition it was impossible for him to go onto any of the rides and from the looks of it neither did she. Just from sitting across from her he could barely contain himself. What was she thinking when she put on the bikini? The combination of sexy and her sweet smelling blood only made his brain rattle even more as he tried to stay still.

"Are you, ok?" she asked as she tried to cover up that perverted swim suit.

"Yeah, I think I'll be ok." she stuttered as he held onto the side of his chair.

Oh to hell he had to get away from her and get something to drink or else his head was going to explode.

"Wait where are you going?"

"I'll be back I just need to get some air." he said as he walked as fast as he could away from her.

Get some air? They were outside. Had she scared him off by an accident for wearing something so kinky?

"I'm such an idiot." she said as she laid her head down on the table.

They had barely been there for thirty minutes and already things were starting to go wrong. She thought that if she wore that suit that his attention would be on her so she could ask him why he didn't trust her but instead it looked as if his focus was on her milk duds. As she rested her head she felt someone grab her shoulder.

"Hey girl how did it go with me bro?"

When she lifted her head she saw both Ela and Jerell standing behind her with a bag of cotton candy.

"Ela what were you thinking giving me something like this? I thought you said this would help with your plan."

"What he was paying attention to you right?"

"Yeah paying attention to my breasts! I knew it wasn't a good idea to wear this thing." she said as she got up and grabbed her bag.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm changing back into my own swimsuit thank you. Maybe then I can ask him those questions." she said as she marched off to the changing room.

Meanwhile in a alleyway hidden away from view their horny vampire had begun snacking on one of the several girls in the park. While her blood wasn't as good as he had hoped it would have been it definitely took his mind off Julie. Was she that desperate to get his attention that she would wear something that revealing? If she wanted to talk to him all she had to do was say so. He was in his human form and no one knew he was a vampire so they could still talked. Oh well, his snack was over and his stomach was full as he placed the girl on the ground.

"Hey thanks for the blood and don't worry you'll wake up in an hour and those holes will fade before then. What am I doing I'm talking to a sleeping woman." he said as he walked out from the alley.

Now that his head was clear he thought about heading back to Julie but them though about getting her a little something for leaving her like that. After all a good gentlemen never left a woman alone and unattended.

Back at the table both Ela and her friend were waiting for Julie when she walked out wearing a two piece bikini but one that had cups big enough to cover everything. That was much better, now that she had on something reasonable she could finally sit down and talk with him.

"Fell better?" asked Jerell.

"Much and Ela I do thank you for trying. I know you meant well but I just can't get his attention on me with something like that."

"It's understandable, after all you did look pretty sexy in that suit. It's a mystery as to why Al wasn't all over you though."

Oh there went her cheeks again. Did she really look that good to him? Oh whatever that was the past and all she had to look forward to was the future. Once she sat back down she heard a familiar voice but not Alucards or any of her other friend. Oh no it was much worse than she expected. A guy with light blonde hair was running towards them in what looked like a speed o, lovely.

"Hey Julie, what's shakin honey?" he asked.

"Go away Mark. I'm here on business and you are not a part of it." she said as she faced forward.

"Awe come on babe don't be like that. Remember our little adventure last summer in the judo gym?"

"Uh Juls who is this guy?"

"This creature is Mark and that's all I'm going to say about him." she said as she took a slight peak at him.

"Oh come on sweetie let's have some fun."

She was suddenly grabbed by her wrist and pulled from her table before he wrapped his arms around her. While she was strong in terms of judo his muscles refused to give up and instead held her in place as he licked her neck.

"Hey let her go or else I'll..."

But before she could finish he used one of his hands to slap her across the face, knocking her back. This gave Julie the opportunity. Using her free elbow she jabbed him in the stomach that caused him to let her go before she took his head and smashed it right into her left knee.

"Now leave us alone!" she said.

From the looks of it people were enjoying their little show, but it wasn't a show to her. This guy just pissed her off especially after what happened last summer. If their instructor hadn't shown up she might have been majorly violated.

"That it sexy get angry. You're even more beautiful when your like that." he said as he threw a punch.

Instead though she grabbed his arm and used her elbow to bend it as far back as she could. She didn't care if she broke it or not she just wanted to teach him a lesson. Instead of talking next came a sweep kick that knocked her on her ass before he pressed his foot against her chest.

"Bested again, now what do you have to say? Be my girl and I won't crush your ribs."

She could barely move her body without the force of his foot getting stronger. If she didn't escape soon her ribs would be crushed. Her breathing began to get wheezy as she struggled to push his foot off. It seemed he had won until her savior returned.

"Hey chump want some ice scream?" he heard come from behind him.

Ice cream began falling down his head as he turned around to face his new opponent.

"Al-I mean Darren you came back?" asked Julie as she sat up.

"Of course I did, I can't leave a friend alone especially when people like this come around. Now as for you."

With a sudden punch he sent Mark back onto his ass before he walked up and kicked him in the sides.

"Come on, you started this now I'm going to end it."

When Julie looked up she noticed that his ears were getting a little pointy and his eyes hadn't changed to red but instead his pupils became little slits.

"Heh not bad punk but your going to need more than punches to take me down."

Oh he wasn't going to fall for the sweep kick. As soon as he swung his foot around he jumped over it and used his own right foot to kick the left side of his face.

"Booya now stay down!"

That final kick should have been the last but he still had one trick up his sleeve. As he rose to his feet he charged full speed at Al but pulling something like that on a vampire wasn't the best idea, that was what the ears were for. With his enhanced hearing he spun around to dodge before he grabbed his tank top and held him over the pool.

"What's wrong? You really don't care about that whore do you? Just let me go and I'll take her off your hands."

As he spoke the anger within Al began rising, if he didn't stop he would do the unthinkable.

"She'll be making my food and I'll be fucking her brains out."

That was it, that was the final straw! With one push he sent Mark as well as himself into the deep end of the pool.

"Al no get out of there!" called Jerell.

"Moron don't go in with him!"

As he pushed Mark towards the bottom of the pool his body began to feel weird. His muscles began to tense up, his body was going into the paralysis state. As soon as his hands loosened up Mark began swimming back to the surface as his foe continued his descent to his doom.

"Mark where is Darren!" Julie exclaimed as he pulled him from the water.

"I don't know. He just let go. It looked as if he couldn't move."

Oh no, was this one of his weaknesses? The pools water had been purified, could that have been why he hadn't returned to the surface? Just before Jerell was about to dive into the water Julie instead did it. As he approached the bottom of the pool his vision began to blur as he saw Julie one last time before he passed out.

All he could hear were the sounds of people talking, or in his case mumbling. His mind began to process what had happened before he blacked out. He pushed Mark in, his body began to tense up until he couldn't move anything, and when he hit the bottom he saw Julie swimming to his rescue. That's when his eyes opened up and saw her face uncomfortably close to his before he began to cough up water.

"Oh thank goodness your ok." she said.

"Ugh well I feel like crap but since I'm not dead I guess I'm ok."

When he got up however he was greeted with a knock to the noggin by his little sister.

"What were you thinking? You know what purified water does to us you dumbass." she said as he grabbed her bag.

"Yeah really, but man that was cool how you pushed him in there." said Jerell before he was knocked on the head.

"Don't encourage him! Anyways we're going to go get changed." she said as the walked towards the rooms.

Well they too would have changed as well but they had some things to discuss. Once they found a secluded bench they both sat down and began talking it out.

"They told me about what happens with you and water. Why did you do that? Why did you throw yourself into danger like that?"

"Well he was talking terribly about you and...I can't let anyone do that to a friend of mine." he said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"A friend huh? You sure haven't been acting like one recently. Why is it that you can't trust me?"

Well he had tried to avoid telling her about his personal life but in order for her to understand he had to tell her.

"I wouldn't say its you but instead humans in general. You see when I was six I was training with my uncle Alucard..."

"Wait Alucard, aren't you Alucard?"

"Yeah I'm Alucard the Second but back to my story. When I was six my uncle began training me to one day take over as the city's protector but during one training exercise we came in contact with a Hunter. She stabbed him in the heart with a steak and before my eyes he disappeared into ash. Julie, Hunters are humans who know about monsters and kill them even if they are innocent. I had to watch my uncle die right in front of me and I would have been next if my dad hadn't come to my aid. "

"I see, so you don't trust humans because one of them killed your uncle. So you don't trust me." she said as a frown spread across her face.

"I did, but after what happened today I think it's safe to say that your no threat to us. Hell you even saved me from drowning. Maybe I'm wrong about humans and maybe things will change but as for right now I'm very cautious. I protect humans and if the day comes that my secret is out I can only hope that they judge me based on my deeds instead of how I look."

"Well if they don't then I guess I'll have to come and save you again." she teased as she stuck out her tongue.

"Oh ho your getting cocky, but yeah. And if you want to come by the club from time to time your welcome there. Monsters may not make the most pleasant company but we know how to throw a party."

"Hm, if I do come by do I have to get on the stripper pole?"

"Only if you wear that bikini again." he teased back as he punched his arm.

Finally after a few days she had finally earned his trust and not only that she had earned a slightly strange friend.


	9. Chapter 9 The Fall of Alucard

Chapter 8

The Fall of Alucard

Darkness, that's all the surrounded her as she drifted into the shadows. Nothing could be seen and nothing could be heard while she floated in the endless abyss. How was she going to escape? What was the purpose behind all of it? Then a bright hole opened up inside the darkness and with it a feeling a comfort and safety as she drifted towards the circle of light. As she approached it she could hear a soft voice coming from the inside, one from that of a woman.

"My dear you must awaken." she said as she entered the space of light.

When she raised her head she saw what looked like a person dressed in a black and purple cloak. Her eyes nor nose could be see, only her red lips. She looked somewhat familiar but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Who was she and why had she saved her?

"Who are you?" she tried to asked as she sat up.

"That answer will come in due time. For now you must know this, a shadow is approaching. It will do anything to break down your reality and consume those who oppose it. You must realize who you are and with it comes power, the power to destroy the shadow."

She wanted to know more but just as she was drawing closer to the woman the light began to consume her. She didn't want to go, she wanted to know more. What was this shadow and why was it her that had to defeat it?

"Wait who are you?!" she asked as the woman began to fade.

"In another time. You will learn the truth." was the last thing she heard before everything went white.

When her eyes opened she found herself back inside the club sitting at one of the booths with Alucard and Jerell. So it had all been just a dream. That was a relief and now she could return to doing whatever she was doing before she fell asleep.

"Hey look sleeping beauty woke up." said Jerell as he chugged her root beer.

"Are you feeling alright? You seem kind of tired. You can go home if you want and get some rest." said Alucard as he took a sip from his blood bag.

"No no I'm ok. I just haven't been getting much sleep lately is all."

"Hm well maybe we can have my mom check you out. Since she's a nurse and all she can probably tell you what's keeping you up." he said as he threw his empty bag in the trash can.

Perhaps she should she thought as the music blasted throughout the club. Everyone seemed to be there and it seemed even more crowded than it had before but then again they did like to party. She was prepared to get up and move around a bit to wave herself up when the alarm began going off. That could only mean one thing, another monster had invaded the city. With haste both Al and Jerell hopped from their seats and onto the stage where Ela began running her analysis on the beast.

"So what is it this time? Class B? Class C? Oh wait class A right?" asked Alucard.

"I'm not sure. The barrier can't seem to send me a feed on this monsters information. It's unknown as to what class it is but it looks to be more than one."

"Sweet you know what that means right bro?" asked Jerell.

"Hell yeah, tag team take down."

A tag team take down was rare but when it happened it was usually Alucard and Jerell who went in to take care of the problem. Either that or Ela and Jerell. This was a big moment for it had been months since their last tag team fight and now they were excited as hell to get started.

"Maybe you guys should take one more person just in case. After all you don't know what these things are capable of." suggested Ela.

"Nonsense, where are their locations?" asked Jerell.

Upon looking at the map she was able to determine their exact locations. The problem was getting there. Since there were more people on the rode than usual they were going to have to go out in the open and while that wasn't a big deal for Jerell for Alucard that could cause some problems.

"Their locations are 35476 Nathaniel Drive. They seem to be near the church."

"And it's a busy day too. How are we going to get there without people noticing us appearing in a cloud of smoke?" asked Jerell.

"I got it. I'll transport us to an alleyway. With how dark they are we should have no problem getting there. When we arrive sis go ahead and send in Counter City and leave the rest to us."

As Julie watched them hover over her computer she also got a bad feeling about what was going to happen. Were they really prepared for something like that.

"Hey Juls no need to frown we will go to the thirty thousand block and kick everyone's butt there." Al said as he joined hands with his partner.

As much as she wanted to stop them she knew they wouldn't stop. They were too determined to turn it down. In a puff of black smoke both disappeared as Ela pulled up an image of the area where their friends seemed to be.

It didn't take them long to reach their destination and once there the buildings began to shift as the sky turned red. Yep, they were back in Counter City and now it was just them and their little friends. When they stepped out they could see what looked like two black dog creatures with smoking fur and three red eyes on each side of their faces.

"This is it? Pet control? Alright well let's get this over with." said Jerell.

While his partner called forth his trusty blade he used his mind to select a form that would make quick work of the pooches. He could feel it as his limbs began to extend while his skin turned white as a armored shell encased his head. His fingers turned into razor sharp daggers as he rose off the ground to about nine feet.

"Looking good man. Have you been working out?" Al teased as he pulled his coat off.

"Hah hah very funny. Let's just get this over with. I have a plate of pasta with my name on it."

This wouldn't take long. Normally monsters such as these took less than ten minutes to take down but these things didn't even look that menacing. As they approached them the two beasts turned their head and focused those eyes right on them. With a loud howl the battle began.

Once they both charged towards them they broke apart so each could take on their own. Once it got close to Alucard he turned around and kicked it right in the face, sending it back down the crumbling street. It wasn't over yet for when it regained its balance it curled up into a ball and began rolling back towards him as fast as it could.

"Time for some kickball."

As he pulled his foot back though he saw the fur on its body sharpen to a point as they turned into knife like razors.

"Change of plan. Baseball it is."

With both hands on the hilt of his sword he pulled back and waited until the creature jumped up and began rolling towards him. Just before it could impact him though he swung his blade and began pushing back on pooch. Whatever this thing was it sure was determined as those razors began cracking his blade. If he didn't knock it back soon it would snap in half so with all his strength he finish the swing and sent it far back before he began flash stepping towards it and with one last jump he struck its head.

"Huh well that took a bit more work than I thought." he said to himself.

As he reached down to take its heart though it collapsed into a black goo as did Jerells little friend.

"Hey what's going on?!" Jerell yelled.

"I'm not sure but I suggest we get back." he replied as the goo began to increase in size.

As they both walked back towards the church steps the goop began to pile up until it took the form of a hideous creature with red and yellow skin, its teeth were rotting away as its long fingernails dug into the ground. It must have been at least nine feet tall as it looked towards them with those pull yellow eyes.

"You two are dead." it said before it suddenly vanished.

"Come on dude use those senses of yours." Jerell begged.

As much as tried he couldn't pick up anything. No footsteps nor the smell of the beast. That's when they were both knocked into the church. Without any time to respond it took Al's tan friend by the leg and began smashing him into the ground before it threw him out a window.

"Al get out of there!" his sister begged.

"I can't, if I do then he will terrorize the city."

If he was going to beat this thing he was going to have to go balls to the wall. As soon as he summoned his blade once more he let loose a few good blasts, but as soon as they hit its flesh the flames simply disappeared without leaving a mark on him.

"That's impossible..."

Well if his flames were going to work them maybe brute force would. With the strength of his feet he jumped up and came down on the beasts head with as much strength as he could put behind it. It looked as if it had worked when he jumped down while the blade was stuck in its head but he was wrong. Instead it simply grabbed the blade and pulled it from its skull before it crushed it in its massive hands.

"A sword, such a child's toy." it said as it used its claws to knock him into the display on the stage.

Well if swords were too childish for him them he was just going to have to give him something else. As he ducked behind the podium be began gathering his dark energy in his hands. Now all he had to do was wait. As soon as it grabbed the podium he turned around and gave him a nice surprise, a powerful blast to its face which vaporized half of its skull. He wasn't stopping there. While it whaled in pain he ran up to it and using the same energy encased his hands and feet in it.

"Hungry big guy? Well you can eat this them!"

With the extra power behind his hands and feet he began chopping away it its right arm until it fell off. Monsters may have been able to hurt him but if he was smarter than them then that did not factor in. Next he went for its head. It was all over or at least it seemed that way. He had let his guard down and now he was in the clutched of his foe.

"My master desired only one thing from this city." it groaned as it did the same to him that it did to Jerell.

Once he was on the ground the beast began pounding into his body with its last strong hand. It hurt but his body could take it but the question was for how much longer? Once he attempted to call forth another blade its arm had already regenerated. Once it had him beneath its hands he leaned down until it was face to face with him.

"Alucard!" Julie called out.

But there was no way for him to hear him. Instead he was being held down by this punk.

"Are you the protector of her highness?!" it roared.

"What?!" he groaned.

"Are you the protector of her highness?!"

"Dude get out of my face."

"Where is her royal highness! Where is the princess?!"

He had no idea what this thing was talking about but with that little conversation it had given him enough time to build up all the power he needed. Once his hands slipped in under the bigger ones he grabbed its flesh and let loose all he had. With a massive burst of energy its arms completely dissolved as it backed up. He wasn't going down in such a fashion but with that last attack he had used up most of his dark energy. All he had now was his fists but even then his body felt terrible. Even when he began standing up his legs shook.

"Please don't brother. Your took weak!"

"If I don't try though then he'll get into the city. I'll protect everyone even if I die trying."

Everyone at the club couldn't believe what they were seeing. Their champion had been smashed and pounded into the rubble and yet he stood. Even if his body couldn't take much more he would protect that which he swore by his uncle he would and that was the city.

"Heh heh still trying to kill me I see. Look at you, a washed up vampire who couldn't even defeat me." the beast groaned as it began walking towards him.

As Julie and Ela watched their friend proceed forward they could feel a few tears begin to well up in their eyes.

"Please, anyone, save them..." begged Julie.

As he limped towards his foe his body began to feel weaker and weaker. He didn't feel as if he was going to die but he couldn't continue fighting anymore. He needed blood but there was none except for his own.

"Farewell vampire."

So this was how it ended. Killed by a nine foot tall looking ape creature. Great, such a great way for him to go out. As he fell to his knees he saw the shadow of the fist that was about to finish him off when a bright light appeared through the window.

"Alucard you knucklehead." it said as it blasted the creature with a beam of light.

The last thing he saw was his foe falling to pieces before he finally fell to the ground.


	10. Chapter 10 A Sign

Chapter 9

A Sign

What had happened that had made them so careless? Thanks to that they both were bed ridden until their injuries healed and thanks to that beast their wounds were sure taking their sweet time healing. While human weapons couldn't hurt monsters monsters could still hurt monsters and they had been hurt pretty badly, but even so they were were lucky to have escaped with their lives. If that thing would have just landed one more hit Alucard would have been dead and so would his friend to follow. Lucky for them someone had been watching over them and just before the beast could finish the job they were saved by that man in the white cloak. Even a day after the event they still had no clue who he was or how he got into Counter City to begin with but they were in his debt if they ever crossed paths again.

Drops of rain began coming down out of the sky as Julie walked down the sidewalk. After witnessing that devastating defeat she had to make sure that they were both ok and doing fine. According to Ela they were both still alive but had sustained some pretty bad injuries but if she knew those two knuckleheads they would be back on their feet in a days time. This was her first time visiting his house though and ever since she had learned that both Ela and her brother were true vampires she kind of wondered what their parents looked like. Were they stern and proud or did they act like normal people? She was about to find out.

Once she stepped up to the door she took a deep breathe and knocked three times. The rain sounded as if it was starting to pick up but before it could go full force the door opened. In front of her stood a woman that she could on describe as an angel. Her blonde hair ran down her back, her green eyes were like two emeralds and her figure was like that of a goddess. She was gorgeous and she was their mother?

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah I'm here to see Alucard and Jerell. Ela told me they were staying here until they recovered and I was just wondering if I could see them."

"Oh you must be Julie, of course you can come in."

As soon as she moved out of the way she walked in and saw nothing but pictures that lined the walls. Most of them looked to be of Ela and her brother as children but there seemed to be a few recent ones near the end of the hall.

"Can I get you anything to drink? Maybe some juice or a soda?"

"No, no I'm fine."

"Alrighty, if you head down the hallway their bedroom is fourth door on the right."

Now that she knew she could finally check up on them after a day of waiting but then she was stopped by his mother.

"If you wouldn't mind could you take this to my son? If he's to get better he needs to drink plenty of it."

From just looking at it she could tell that it was blood, but since she had seen him drink from blood bags it didn't disturb her that much. As she walked down the hall she stopped to look at a few of their photos. There was Ela, Alucard, and their mother but there was also a man that had his black hair pulled back behind his head and with a finely trimmed beard. That must have been their father. They really just looked like a average family in the pictures. It kind of interested her when she saw them grouped together for one big family photo.

As she was about to grab the door she heard them both talking to each other inside. Well it was good to know they were still as talkative as ever. When they opened the door she saw that they had been watching something on TV.

"So wait, they sparkle in sunlight? What the hell?" Alucard said.

"The way our kind are treated in the movie industry is unbelievable."

When they heard the door open though their attention was focused on her as she walked into their room.

"Oh hey Juls, Ela didn't say you were coming." said Jerell.

"Yeah she told me where you two were being cooped up so I decided to come by and visit."

When she arrived at the house she expected worse but all they had on them were a few blood soaked bandages around their arms and heads.

"Well if your going to stay for a while then at least pull up a seat." replied Alucard as he grabbed his computer chair and rolled it to the isle between their beds.

She didn't see why not. After all they really didn't have anyone else to talk to besides each other. With Ela managing the club they were pretty much left alone with his parents and she knew full well how annoying they could be after a while.

"Are you both doing ok?"

"Well our bones bodies ache, our muscles hurt, and we have this obnoxious headache. So it's better than our first fight wouldn't you say man?" replied Al.

"Totally, remember when we had to lay in bed for three days while our broken bones were healed?"

"Ugh that was the worst."

Just seeing them act like their normal selves lifted her spirits. Before she left that morning she had been afraid that they would be just down in the dumps but nope, they were both still energetic even if they were bed ridden.

"Oh your mom told me to give this to you." she said as she handed him the mug of blood.

"Oh sweet. Thanks this is just what I needed." he said as he took the mug from her.

Even after his defeat he still had that same smile on his face. Once he lifted the glass to his mouth he simply let it flow down, but it didn't stay that way for long. As soon as he got a taste he spat it back out into the mug.

"Oh god that was repulsive. What was that from?"

For blood from a human it sure tasted extremely bitter. The second it touched his tongue he just knew he had made the wrong decision. Now he was left without anything to eat or drink.

"Did you want me to get you something else?" she offered.

"Nah it's ok. I'll ask my sis to get something later. Let's just relax and enjoy our kind race being disgraced by cinema."

Ugh whoever that blood came from it definitely wasn't good. It's taste still lingered on his tongue as he tried to relax against the headboard of his bed, but all that caused was aching muscles. He needed some blood to speed up the healing process but he would have to get up and go see his mother for that. That's when he saw Julie's exposed neck. Every time he saw her he always got a whiff of her sweet blood. He wanted to taste it but at the same time he didn't want to scare her off, but then again he needed blood to heal faster.

As she watched the movie she felt his arms wrap around her body before he whispered something into her ear.

"Don't be afraid."

As soon as she felt his fangs puncture her skin she jumped slightly as he began sucking out some of her blood, but the strangest thing of all was that it didn't hurt that much. There was a small sting then nothing, all she felt was her blood being sucked out. That's when he heard it, the soft rhythmic tone. After he had a small mouthful he pulled away from her as she got up from her seat.

"What was that for?" she asked as she held her bleeding neck.

"I'm really sorry but I needed to get the taste of that other blood out of my mouth." she said as he wiped his mouth.

"Couldn't you have asked?"

"I thought you wouldn't have let me."

"I may have objectified to it but if it would of helped you then of course I would give it to you."

Even after having some of her blood drained though she still felt normal. She didn't feel dizzy or faint, just awake and alive.

"Well hey what's done is done. How are you feeling after that man?" asked Jerell.

As he sat up off the backboard he began moving his arms and wrists before he moved his feet and legs. As soon as everything checked out he threw the covers off and jumped straight out of bed.

"Alright I'm back in the game!"

"Huh, I guess you weren't as hurt as you thought you were."

Instead of sitting back down he walked to the front of the room and began to stretch. It felt so good to be out of that damn bed. Even if it had only been a day he didn't like being kept in one area. As she stretched he heard his sisters voice come from the doorway.

"What are you doing out of bed?" she asked as she tapped her foot on the floor.

"Look sis I'm all better. I can fight again!"

Just when he thought he could escape the room she flicked his forehead and sent him back against the wall.

"Wrongo, you're not fighting again until you've trained more."

"But sis I can fight. Just let me show you."

"No and that's final. You think I'm going to let you fight again after what happened yesterday? You were sloppy and careless. You underestimated you opponent and look what happened. You will fight again when you've trained for another month." she said as she began walking out.

"Another month?! Come on that was just a fluke. I can still take down anyone in my path."

"What if you can't? What if the next fight kills you? We may be vampires but we still have weaknesses and if they use them against us then that only lowers our chances of succeeding."

Now he got it. He now knew why she was determined to keep him away from monsters.

"Alright, I'll take the month off and train with Jerell once he's recovered. Sorry if I made you worry."

She may have been a little brat at times but she was still his sister and if she was worried about him fighting then he needed to assure her that he be safe and if that meant staying away from Counter City for a while he would do it.


	11. Chapter 11 World Within a World

Chapter 10

World Within a World

A few days had already passed after Al's recovery and yet he was itching to get back to work. All he wanted to do was fight a monster, just one but thanks to his defeat he had been grounded by his sister as well as his mother and so he had nothing to do. He could easily have gone to the club to hang out with others but then that would have just tempted him to fight even more. The only thing he could do there at the moment was train against other monsters but with Jerell still out of commission he had no choice but to wait. That wasn't the only thing on his mind though, what that thing had said to him still echoed through out his brain. What had he meant by "protector" and why was it that he thought he was this protector? What about this princess? There hadn't been any actual royal monsters for centuries. Whatever it meant he wanted to find out and there was only one place he could do that.

The sounds of electronic arcade games echoed through the building as both he and Julie partook in a nice, friendly game of air hockey. There were a few people there but since it had just opened more people would be pouring in in no time. Although he kind of wish they had stopped playing the game because ever since they started he had been getting his ass handed to him on a silver platter. Seriously her relaxes were really good, maybe even faster than a vampires. Although the sun might have been a contributing factor in his losing streak as it shined through the window and hit his back.

"And that's another point for me. What's the score again almighty vampire?"

"Ten to nothing." he grumbled as he took out another puck.

"Awe don't look so down. You're good at fighting and I'm better than you at air hockey." she teased as they began another game.

It was as if when she played any kind of game that she became a different person. Cocky and determined, that's what she had been feeling ever since they had started.

"So how's Jerell doing? Has he gotten better yet?" she asked as she hit the puck.

"He's getting there. It takes a bit longer for him to recover but he'll be fine."

As they knocked the puck back and forth more and more people began to enter the establishment. Since it was still the weekend however the place filled up rather quickly with young kids and teens who were off from school. That one little distraction though gave her enough time to score another goal before he placed his bouncer on the table.

"Going somewhere? Afraid of losing again?" she teased as she placed hers down.

"Maybe later but for right now I need to be somewhere." he replied as he opened the double doors.

"This place wouldn't happen to be another secret club would it?" she asked as she caught up with him.

"No it's a secret porn shop now shoo."

He was lying his ass off and she could tell. Ever since she had discovered the club that laid in the old factory she had wanted to know more about the monster world but just like the hardheaded boy he was he refused to tell her. Perhaps she knew too much but then again learning and knowing more wasn't exactly a bad thing. Instead of using her oh so masterful stealth she instead just continued to follow him. Even if he got angry he wouldn't dare reveal himself during the day with all so many people around.

'You wouldn't happen to want to come along would you?" he chuckled nervously.

"I wouldn't mind. That's only if you will let little me tag along."

Well since she did save his life and hadn't told anyone about their secret he thought why not? If she desired more knowledge on the monster world then the place they were headed was just the place. Now he didn't mind bringing her along but there was one thing he always dreaded when leaving for this place and unfortunately for him that's exactly where he was going to have to go in order to get some answers.

"I guess there's no harm but just don't touch anything."

As much as she was excited to see this new place she was also confused as to where they were going. Instead of heading into the city they instead were heading to the beach but not towards the water instead they were headed towards what looked like a huge drainage pipe. Most people never got close to it because of what they feared would come out of it but he knew the secret.

"It's inside the there?"

"Nope, now just step in with me and we will get going."

Now that she saw where they were going she wasn't too sure if she wanted to go with him anymore. It smelled slightly of garbage as they walked down the pipe only to stop at a blocked off section of the pipe.

"So what now? Where do we go from here?"

"Heh you never learn do you. Things aren't always as they seem." he said as he moved his hand over to his left.

She watched and listened as he moved his hand up and down the metal walling as he made a little jingle. It was only four notes but as soon as he hit the fourth note the wall began breaking apart and moving aside for them like Lego bricks. Once the wall had disappeared there before them sat a circular platform and a single lever.

"Told ya..." he said as he tapped the tip of her nose.

"Har har, I could have figured that out." she said as they stepped through the opening before the wall began to reform.

"Video games may be your specialty but the world of monsters is mine." he teased as he walked to the platform.

Once she was by his side he reached for the level and pulled it one good time. As soon as it went all the way down the platform began to descend down into the earth. The farther they went the more curious she got.

"Are you sure you're allowed to take me here? What if they find out I'm human?"

"Oh trust me when I say they are more afraid of you than you are of them." he replied as he patted her back.

Once they went down far enough there she saw it. Below their own city sat another one but instead of skyscrapers and cars the buildings looked to be made out of wood and metal. Ever since she was born this had been down below. Up above she could see huge lights that seemed to light it up and down below there were tons among tons of monsters.

"Julie welcome to Yokai City. A place built for monsters way back in the seventeen hundreds. Population, nine hundred ninety nine thousand."

"Whoa, so wait why aren't they up there with you guys? Can't you, you know, take on human forms?"

"Yep, but down here they are safe. Down here they have need to fear humans. Here their needs are taken care of from food and shelter to entertainment. Ever since the Hunters existed they were always hiding in forests, caves you name it but once this city was built they were all told they would be safe until the day humans and monsters could live together. It took a ton of work and money but it was all worth it."

Just looking at it she could tell that he wasn't kidding. It must have stretched for miles and along those roads sat houses and shops. As soon as the platform hit the bottom he decided it was time to stretch his true legs as his human form vanished from sight.

"Showing off for everyone?"

"Hey we vampires have a reputation to uphold. I can't come here in my human form all willy nilly." he said as they stepped off the elevator.

Instead of cement the ground was only composed of rocks and dirt which had mixed footprints all in them. Just from looking into the crowd that stood before them she could tell that the variety of monsters that hung out in the club was nothing compared to this underground city.

"Could we look around a bit?" she asked curiously as they headed into the crowd.

"Nope, remember I'm only here to get some answers. After that we're leaving."

Well he certainly seemed more strict than usual. What was the problem with her bringing something back? What she saw laying out on some of the outdoor stands seemed human enough, but maybe they weren't. After all he said that some things weren't as they appeared. Still for a city underground it looked pretty nice. Of course it didn't have any sky scrappers but they seemed to have plenty of homes for them to live in and shops for them to look into.

"Now where is that shop again? Over here? No, no that's the noodle shop. Damn..."

"Are you lost of master of monsters?" she said as she poked his side with her elbow.

"No of course not, I know exactly where I am going."

They were lost. It must have been at least four months since he last visited and in that time he had been either exploring more of the human's city or in the club. Speaking of the club he could have gone for a good blood bag. As they continued walking she began noticing that none of the citizens were picking up on the fact that she was human? Were they not afraid of her or did she smell somewhat different than a normal human.

"Is there a map we can use?"

"Yeah but I left it at my house. Stupid me." he said as he smacked his forehead.

Once they stopped they heard someone calling out for them, or more specifically Alucard.

"Oh god please help me in my time of need..." he groaned.

From out of nowhere a girl dressed in a black dress jumped from the crowd and wrapped her arms around him before she began squeezing the life out of him.

"My Alucard you've returned at last!" she exclaimed with happiness.

Just from looking at her she was gorgeous. Not only was her body like an hourglass but that chest, it put her own to shame. She tried not to blush as she saw them press against her friends own chest but she couldn't contain it.

"I thought you wouldn't come back! Are you finally going to accept me as you're bride this time?!"

"Quit it Mellina, you're...crushing my...spine."

As soon as she realized what she was doing though she let go only for him to fall to ground as his own blood ran from his nose. It was a sad day in monster history when a vampire lost blood in such a way. Thank the good merciful lord though she hadn't crushed his spine. Although the lord hadn't been as merciful to Julie who's face still looked like a tomatoe.

"No I'm not here to accept you as my bride. I'm here because I need your help with something."

"Awe, but I could sure use your power for my potions. Who's your friend here?" she asked as her eyes examined her figure.

"She's Julie now can we please get down to business?"

"Sure sweetie, what is it that you need?"

"Two days ago I ran into a fellow monster who said I was a "protector" of some kind of princess. I need you to tell me what those words mean and how their connected."

"Hm seems simple enough. Alright let's head on over to my shop and we will get you two squared away."


	12. Chapter 12 Return of Dark Power

Chapter 11

The Return of Dark Power

Who was this Mellina and what connection did she have with Alucard? Was she his friend? His girlfriend? Why had she asked him to be her husband? All these questions clouded her mind as they entered her little shop of horror. Skulls littered the walls, two crows nested just behind her desk, and jars of god only knew what lined the cabinets. She seemed human enough but if that was the case why was she down in the city? Perhaps there was more to her than she thought.

As they sat down at the table they waited for her as she went out back to grab what supplies she needed. Just being inside the shop kind of gave her chills and it didn't help that those crows of hers were watching them. Whatever he wanted to know he needed to hurry up because she was about to get up and get out of there.

"So what's with this girl? She looks just like a human, is she a witch?"

"Close, necromancer. They can summon the dead and gather information using peoples memories. Although this chick is a bit different." he said as she returned with her crystal ball, a small stick, and a can of soda.

"Alright now you said you needed me to do something with a part of your recent memory. Do you know the price for such a thing."

"Fine, here take it." he sighed as he grabbed a twenty from his pocket and slammed it down on the counter.

"Good, now we are in business." she said as she placed the money in her pocket.

After she had reaped his wallet she grabbed her crystal ball and placed it at the center of the table. It all seemed very close to what she had seem fortune tellers do but as soon as her hands encased the orb a cloud began to form inside of its empty space. Next came the stick.

"I want you to think back to that moment. Remember exactly what it said my dear."

Confusion rang inside her head as she saw him close his eyes and take a deep breathe. As his memories rewound themselves he stopped right at the moment he had been pinned down. How he hated the memory but if she needed it then he needed to remember it.

"Alright go ahead." he said.

As the stick gently stroked his forehead a small white orb began to fall out. He tried not to move as she took what she needed but it kind of tickled his brain a bit. It was over though in a matter of two seconds when it popped out and landed in her hand.

"Replication complete."

"Replication, you didn't take the real memory?" asked Julie.

"Take a real memory? Oh no that's impossible. Once something has been imbedded inside ones brain its impossible to remove the real thing but you can replicate it just like this." she answered as she tossed the glowing orb back and forth in her hands.

Once she had his memory everything had been completed. All she had to do was slip it right into the large hunk of crystal. Once it fazed through the surface it vanished inside the cloud as the smoke began turning black.

"A protector and a princess. A princess born thousands of years ago but died only fifteen years ago. A new heir was born and she walks today." she said as her eyes lit up while her hands held the crystal ball.

"What is she talking about?" whispered Julie.

"No clue, but let's pay attention." he responded.

As she sat there images began filling her head, images she didn't want to see.

"A dark power has found its way back into the world."

"Dark power? Like who?" he asked of her.

"A shadow that was once man but now a demon. He seeks to make this world his own."

"Are you sure? Is there any way to stop it?"

Suddenly three final images flew through her mind.

"A scythe, a gauntlet, and a container. Used together they can be used to destroy the shadow. Two partners the world shall see that will lead it to prosperity."

Well out of all of that none of it made any sense, but he did manage to get it all down on some paper he had brought with him so all he had to do was put the pieces together. As soon as the ball cleared of the black smoke she popped back into reality where everyone had been waiting.

"So is that what you wanted to know?"

"It's cryptic but I'll put it all together. Thanks anyways." he said as they both stood up and walked to the door.

"Just be careful out there Ally. If what I saw is true then the humans above are headed for some serious crap." she warned him.

"When is that never happening nowadays though?"

If what she said was true though then whatever this shadow creature was more than likely more powerful thank himself or even his own father. Once they left the the shop they both had no clue what to do next. Julie wanted to head back up but Al wanted to stay and walk through the city some since it had been so long since he had last visited.

"Hey if you feel like going home the elevator is straight ahead. I know being here probably makes you uncomfortable so yeah. Straight ahead." he said as he sat down on a nearby bench.

"It's ok I'll stay until you're ready. I'm not in any rush to get home." she said as she sat down beside him.

As they sat there he began pondering what exactly she had told them actually meant. A protector and a princess, one that lived thousands of years ago died in years ago. She now has an heir but the question was what kind of monster was she? If they could find that out then perhaps they could discover why they wanted her so bad.

"Ugh why can't she speak like a normal person. It's always cryptic this and rhythm that and sometimes it's both at once. Ah I hate it when she does that." he said as he placed the paper back in her pocket.

"Maybe there is someone who can help us. Isn't there some kind of library with books about monster history around here?"

"Yeah but books there cost a fortune. With a book that large we are looking at two hundred bucks and that's only if it contained the information we need. Maybe my folks know something." he said as he stood up.

Listen to Mellina had given him such a headache and it didn't get any better when someone crashed into him with their motorized skateboard. Upon impact they both hit the ground as people stopped to see what had happened. From the dust they could see him laying underneath a body, but not just any body. This body had no head.

"W-What happened to his head?" Julie asked.

As he tossed the body aside he knew exactly who had run into him.

"Locke damn it!" he shouted as he looked around for the head.

Upon looking under the bench he saw his brown hair and yellow eyes looking right at him.

"Hey what's up Alucard? How's your day been going?" the head asked as it was picked up.

"Yeah good to see you too." he replied as he grabbed the body.

As she watched him lean the body against the bench things began to come together once he placed the head back on the shoulders. Whoever this Locke character was he seemed to be some kind of zombie creature.

"What were you thinking using that thing here? You could have scattered all your parts and you know I will never look for your weenis. That's your own problem."

"Hey come on man lighten up. At least I've got all my pieces this time."

"Yeah sure and that skin is still puke green I see. Anyways we were about to head out." he said as he turned around.

"We? Oh who's this lady? Is she your princess of the night? Your love pet? Your..."

Instead of hearing him yammer on Al simply took his head back off his shoulders and held it.

"Alright I get it. Party pooper. Oh that reminds me I have something that might interest you. Just give me back my head and I'll give it to you."

Normally he didn't trust Locke with his head but he didn't usually have some pretty nifty stuff for him so he decided to return his hallow head. Once it had been placed back on his shoulders he reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a sword hilt and guard.

"And I'm suppose to be impressed with this how?"

"Press the top of the handle."

The bad thing was he sometimes made the devices needlessly complex. Once he pushed the button the slit in the hilt opened up as a long black blade extended out of it until it reached around four three a three feet in length.

"Oh man, this is actually pretty sweet." he said as he pressed the button again so the blade would retract back into the guard.

"It took me a few weeks to work out the bugs but I finally managed to create my first weapon. I call it the Vampiric Stinger."

"A stinger eh? Well I guess I'll have to try it out later. Thanks man." he said as he patted his back.

"No problem. Keep in touch and I'll keep bringing the goods!" he yelled to them as they both began walking towards the elevator.

Well he still had a month to train to maybe within that month he could figure out that riddle.


	13. Chapter 13 Monster Relationships

Chapter 12

Monster Relationships

It felt good to be fighting again even if it was just for training. As it stood they both had four weeks before they could return to the battlefield but in the mean time they both planned on getting even stronger and they knew just how. The club wasn't just a club but also a training course for those who wished to do battle in Counter City. Hidden away was the Tower of Carnage, the Obstacles of Blood, and finally the Crushing Moons. All of these combined with their special training exercise made for one hell of a work out. As Alucard's father always told him "If you don't push yourself to your limit you're not trying hard enough."

Meanwhile both Ela and Julie were soaking in a enchanted hot tub just out of the boundary of their little training courses. Thanks to the magic that had been fused with the water Ela didn't have to worry about freezing up and in fact it seemed to relax her muscles. All they had to do was watch them as they attempted to climb the tower, but since they hadn't used them in quite some time they did have some problems going in. With the spinning blades, the spiked malice s, and the spears that could impale them at any moment they had to be quick on their feet, but even that wasn't easy.

"So the weights help increase their speed and strength right? Their not just torturing themselves." asked Julie.

"Bingo, by wearing those weights their strength and speed will steadily increase over time." she reponded.

"And the blades, malice s and spears?"

"Oh their to keep them on their toes. It teaches them to be aware of their surroundings. Their made of human elements though so even if say their arms get sliced off they will regrow in an instant." she replied as she took a sip of blood from her glass.

It sure looked tiring and dangerous but if they that confident to use it then hey it was entertainment for them. As they ascended the tower they flipped and jumped to each platform to try and avoid the blades that were coming at their heads and feet. It wasn't easy though, the weights on their ankles and arms had been set to a much heavier wait which made it a bit harder to judge when to jump. With each level they passed the next would only be harder.

Luck seemed to be on their side that day for when they reached the top of the tower that carried only minor cuts and gashes that healed in second. Now it was onto the obstacle course. Here they would face swinging axes, flying arrows, and flamethrowers. The only difference between the course and the tower though was that they could both use a weapon to defend themselves against the arrows. With Alucard's now blade and Jerell's gauntlets they decided to do something a bit more interesting.

"First one to finish the course and kick the moon wins?" Jerell suggested.

"Oh man you're losing big time." he replied.

Ela and Julie only watched as they lined up on each side as they prepared for the run. They had no clue why they were watching them train or hell why there was a hot tub in the training room. Did they find amusement in their suffering. The weights had already begun to tire out their legs and they hadn't even made it close to the end.

"Hey good luck!" Ela cheered as they both waved.

Well that certainly helped. As soon as they were prepared both took off as they headed towards the swinging blades while also using their weapons to block the arrows. Alucard's new blade seemed to be doing the trick quite nicely but as for Jerell, he already had an arrow in his right knee and two on his arms. He didn't give up though as they both slid right under the four blades on their knees. Escaping with only a scratch to his cheek Alucard was in the lead as he spun his blade around and around to block the arrows with only two penetrating his stomach and chest.

"Hey nice look there pal. What do you call it?" he taunted Jerell with as they ran side by side.

"Pay attention you two!" Ela exclaimed.

It was too late though, once the message got across to them their flesh began burning as the flamethrowers hit them head on. Now their skin was slightly red like two lobsters that had just been taken out of the boiler, They weren't going to let a little fire stop them though as they ran towards it. If they couldn't duck under it them they just had to go over it. Instead of competing it was time to work together.

"Now this is interesting. Their not allowed to leave the course and there is no way they can jump over that flame." said Ela as the enchanted water began to relax her muscles.

"Then how are they going to finish this?"

"Watch and learn."

First they had to analyze the situation. The flame was coming right at them and wouldn't stop until they finished the course. If only they had something to block it with them Alucard could jump off his shoulders then he could grab him and throw him over just in time. That's when Jerell had it. Instead of staying on his side he jumped to the center and stood there with one gauntlet out.

"Oh I see now. Good plan." replied Al as he jumped behind him.

With one good charge they both began running through the flame. In the second the flame hit the large gauntlet bits of it began flying everywhere as they ran towards the end with haste. Faster and faster their feet took them as they were approaching the very end of the course.

"Alright bud ready to finish this?"

All he did was nod before he jumped up onto his shoulder. Once he was in the air he jumped forward into a front flip before he grabbed Jerell by the collar and threw him over with him. That was pretty much it, once their feet hit the floor the course had been completed. To their surprise though they hadn't been feeling all that weighed down since they began the course.

Now all they had left was the two spiked balls. While they stretched the wall in front of them began to open as a canon appeared from the holes in the wall. Once they fired off two spiked orbs began flying towards them as the jumped into the air. With one kick they both shattered them as more began shooting out. One after another they used their legs and fists to completely destroy the projectiles . With only two let both Ela and Julie got out from the tub and wrapped their towels around their bodies as they both gave the final two orbs a last good kick.

"Oh ho we rocked this course!" Jerell cheered as he pulled the arrows from his chest and knee.

"Hell yeah now let's get these weights off before we lose circulation to our legs." he said as he reached down to take them off his legs.

Once they both had all four weights off their bodies they threw them aside as the floor shook from the added weight. The course might have been a bit challenging but they had to get use to it. They were going to be on it a lot more in the coming weeks.

"Nice work team work you two." said Ela as she tries the towel around her body.

"Showa! Bow you see this bro? Is this a fine woman or what?" Jerell asked as he looked over Ela's body.

"Dude that's my sister! But if you want to talk about fine bodies look beside her. That's the body...of a goddess." he said as he leaned in to bite at Julies neck only to have her elbow jab his head.

"Hey now I'm not a drink here." she said as she stuck her tongue out.

For a girl like her she sure had a strong jab. All he did was lay on the floor face down and give her a thumbs up. When she turned to see what Ela was going to do to him though she saw that her face was a red as a pepper.

"Come on man let's get out there and party." Jerell said as he grabbed his friend by his coat collar and began dragging him out.

Now that that was all over with they could relax without hearing them grunt and groan from the pain. As soon as they sat down Ela asked her a question that she really didn't see coming, especially from someone like her.

"Hey Julie, have you ever had a boyfriend?"

"Does this have to do with Jerell by any chance?"

"What?! No, no nothing is going on between me and him."

All she had to do was give her the look to say "you're lying" and "spit it out".

"Alright, I may have some feelings toward him. Just some alight?"

"Really? Then what's stopping you from telling him? Oh wait, it's your brother isn't it?"

All she did was nod as she bowed her head.

"It's just he's his best friend but I'm not sure if he would approve of me you know, me dating him. After all I'm a vampire and he's just a shape-shifter. What if others saw us and it caused our image to go down? The image that our own father had to build from the ground up in the monster community."

"Well you could always go behind his back and just ask him out when he's not around. How about I talk with him? Maybe I can convince him to let you both do this."

"You would really do that for me? That would be great if you could. Just make sure Jerell isn't around to hear it."

"Yeah I'll talk to him tomorrow about it all. Just leave it to me."

Even though she had no clue how monster relationships worked she was willing to give it a try just to make her friend happy. That just made Ela feel kind of funny inside especially in her stomach.

"Thanks." she said as she gave her a hug.

"Ela?"

"Yeah?"

"I can feel your fangs."

Oh well just like her brother she wanted a taste of her blood too she guessed.


	14. Chapter 14 The Choice

Chapter 13

The Choice

The plan was simple. When she got to the club she would sit him down and ask him about Ela's dating situation. It felt kind of weird doing so though, although it was probably because she didn't know monsters had these kinds of problem. She always thought they grabbed who they could and went all the way. Since they no had work tomorrow she had the perfect plan just in case he actually agreed. It seemed simple enough but what frightened her the most was not knowing how he would react to it all in the end.

As the sun rose up over the city she began getting ready for her day. Instead of just throwing on some fresh clothes she instead hopped into the shower and washed herself good before she threw on one of her normal blouses, a pair of her short jean pants and slip on shoes before she grabbed her phone and headed out her bedroom door. By the look of it the day wasn't to be as hot as the previous day but it was still to be close to eighty-two degrees outside so she took herself a hat as well.

"Alright dad I'm heading out." she told her father as she passed by the kitchen.

"Julie...come on and eat some breakfast. There's something that we need to talk about." he said as he pulled out her chair.

What was it he wanted to talk with her about? She had no glue but at least he had her breakfast ready. Once she sat down and began eating her father put down his news paper and looked down at her as if he was worried about her.

"Where have you been going for the past week? Every time I call you your phone seems to be off and when I check the arcade your not there."

Now she was trapped. She couldn't tell him about the club or Alucard and the others. If she did one of two things would happen, either he would just laugh at the idea of his own daughter hanging around with monsters or he would freak out. She had promised Ela and the others to not reveal the location of the club to any other human. She had to talk her way out of it.

"I've just been, busy with a new friend." she said as she pushed her plate back.

"A new friend huh? What's their name?" he asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Alu...I mean Darren. Darren is his name and his friends Ela and Jerell."

When she almost said his real name her body began to tense up as she hoped that he didn't hear her say that.

"Hm, this Darren kid he wouldn't happen to have dark blue hair, blue eyes, about six feet tall and wears a black jacket wherever he goes huh?"

What? How did he know about him?

"Yeah, that's him. How did you know?"

"I've seen you with him once at the arcade a few days ago. You both were playing some kind of hockey game. I didn't think you two would ever meet again." he said as he opened up his newspaper.

"Meet again? We just met last week at work."

"Oh no no. You probably don't remember too well but when you were just four years old but you both met during our cities third centennial. It was actually kind of cute when you saw him. You seemed afraid and you hid behind me but he found you and instead of talking he just stroked the top of your head."

She had never known that. She couldn't really remember much before she was five but somehow that seemed familiar. It might have also explained why he felt kind of familiar when they first met besides the event that happened two years previous.

"So you don't mind if I hang out with them?"

"No problem here, just be sure to turn on your phone on." she said with a smile.

That was a relief. At least their secret was still safe. As soon as she finished up her meal she placed the dishes in the sink, washed them up and before she knew it she was out the door. No rain, no cloud just sunshine and a bit of wind. Still she wondered how both Jerell and Alucard were holding up. Were they still as antsy as they had been to get back to fighting? Was training really enough to keep them from defying Ela and taking on whatever monsters came into town? Lord only knew.

As she walked down the sidewalk she began to get the feeling that she was being followed and if that was the case all she had was her pepper spray to keep her safe. She tried to ignore whoever it was but when she inevitably turned her head to see if she could spot them all she saw was a white figure disappear into the alleyway. Now if she wasn't sane she would have chased after them but she learned to not chase after that which can't be seen, it might it lead into trouble.

After that though everything seemed to go rather smoothly. With her phone in her pocket and actually turned on she rounded the corner and from there she could see the old sign from the factory. There were still a few people walking down the sidewalk so she had to be careful that no one saw her. After the last person passed she quickly walked down the steps and slid into the doorway so the camera could see her. Using the camera the people in charge of the barrier could release it and let her in time if she chose to step in. She waited a few more second to let the people pass before she quickly leaned against the wall and slipped right through the barrier.

As usual there were a pretty good amount of monsters there although it seemed to be lacking unlike previous days. Instead of having to slide through she could easily walk around. The music was still as loud as ever and the red lights were still as blinding as ever as well but that wasn't much of a problem as she made her way through the crowd. After she managed to make her way to the other side she found herself at the booths were she and her friends usually sat at but instead all she saw was Alucard who seemed to be reading some sort of book.

"What's up?" she asked as she slid into the seat.

"Oh nothing much just trying to decipher what exactly this cryptic message means. He said as he flipped through a few pages.

"Have you got any leads yet?"

"A few, sort of. Remember how she said that this princess was born a about three thousand years ago? Well using this book I managed to trace the royal families back to that time period and I came across this."

When he lifted the old book up instead of seeing a clear drawing or picture she instead saw a scratched out image of what looked like a woman in cloak of some kind. It was hard to make out her features such as hair color or eye color but just from the figure alone it was definitely a girl.

"Why is it scratched out?"

"That I am not sure of. I did however find something else pretty interesting. Look right here." he said as he flipped to the next page.

Instead of being scratched out the three images were as clear as day. A purple and black scythe, a gauntlet, and a long cylinder the seemed to have some kind of black goo spilling out of it.

"These were the three things that she said could stop this shadow from taking over Earth."

"Great, did you find out their locations?"

"Nope, I don't know crap about where they are located. But they mention something about Dark Matter beings and how their leader used these items to destroy the darkness of the world. So if this chick really is the princess then we need to find her and get her to tell us how to use these things."

"One problem, she's dead remember? She's been dead for fifteen years."

Instead of responding all he did was push the book off the table and let his head fall to the surface with a loud thud.

"Ugh saving the world is never easy is it?" he asked as he groaned as he grabbed his glass of blood and took a sip.

"It's alright. You'll get it." she said with a smile to try and cheer him up.

"Yeah when everything starts falling apart." he replied as he lifted his head up.

In the mitts of the information she had almost completely forgotten why she had gone there in the first place.

"You know your sister and Jerell really seem to get along pretty well don't you think?"

"Of course, we're all friends." he said as he finished off his drink.

"And you want to see your sister happy right?"

"When she's not barking at me sure."

"Well she wanted me to ask you something. She felt if it was her you might not approve of it."

"Ok kind of strange but shoot."

She had a feeling that it wasn't going to be easy asking him what Ela wanted her to ask and on top of that she had no clue how he would react? Would he kick her out or would he be calm and collected? There was only one way to find out.

"Ela wants to know if you would approve of...her asking Jerell out on a date." she asked quickly.

Just after she finished the question she closed her eyes as she prepared for his answer. What she got she didn't expect.

"That's all? I don't really see the problem with her doing so."

"So wait you don't care if she dates him? Even if he's your best friend?"

"Hey it's her life. If she wants to take him out for a day I'm not going to stop her. Our father and mother don't mind him so it should be alright with them as well." he said with slight smile on his face.

"That's great. I'll tell her later today alright?" she said.

"Why delay it? She's right up there?" he replied as he pointed to the stage.

"Right, guess I should have figured that huh?" she said as she began walking up the steps.

All he did was lean against the table as he simply watched to see what his sisters reaction would be. Once she began telling her all he had to do was put on a smile for her for when she finished she simply gave Julie a big strong hug before she looked over at him with a smile on her face. Even though dating wasn't really his thing if it made his bratty little sister happy and kept the team strong then he had no problem with it.

"Hey Al, so what's going on?" asked Jerell as he grabbed his Coke.

"Nothing much. Hey you see that girl up there?" he asked as he pointed to Ela.

"You mean Ela?"

"Jerell, that's going to be your wife some day." he said just to screw with him a bit.

"Hah hah very funny." he said as he walked up the steps.


	15. Chapter 15 Partners

Chapter 14

Partners

The next day things seemed to be a little more quieter around the club, well as quiet as partying monsters watching strippers and dancing to music could be. Still she had things she need to do and after the response that Jerell had given Ela the previous day it kind of made her curious as to how things were going. With her big brothers permission she was allowed to ask out her friend but would it really work out between them was all she wanted to know. She would know soon enough though, after all it was only a simple date. A trip to a diner, a movie, and whatever else they wanted to do afterward s. Well she couldn't focus on it too much, she had groceries to get.

The weather seemed pretty nice with only a few cloud in the sky and for once there was a nice breeze rolling through the city. It was about time, for as hot as it had been anyone could have cooked an egg on the sidewalk and eat it too. There were definitely a good amount of people out as well but that didn't bother her that much unless some pervert decided to try and grab her where then the perv would be thrown over her shoulder and knocked out. It wasn't uncommon in the shopping district.

As she looked down at her list of supplies she noticed out of the corner of her eye something rather strange. A man dressed in a hoodie and sunglasses seemed to be hiding behind one of the many diner signs that lined the streets. He wasn't trying to peek on someone was he? After she slipped her list back into her pocket she carefully crossed the street as fast as she could before he could escape. Once across she walked as quietly up behind him with her hand raised as she prepared to chop his head open but as soon as she began bringing her hand down he rolled out of the way and landed back on one foot.

"Hey what's the big idea?" he asked.

"What do you think your doing peeking at...Ela?"

At first glance he looked like a complete stranger but once she got a better look that dark blue hair and blue eyes really started to look familiar. Before he could move she grabbed his hood and pulled it down while she used her other hand to pull the shades from his face.

"Al, what are doing?" she asked annoyingly.

"Oh you know just checking out the special of the day. The...clam soup." he replied as he looked at the special menu he had been hiding behind.

What was his deal? Why was he watching them both eat? Was it that he was worried things could go wrong and it could end in an ugly way?

"Yeah nice try but I can see right through you. Your worried about your sister aren't you?"

"What? No I'm just here to check out the special like I said."

She didn't even have to give a verbal response. All she did was raise a brow at him as he knelt back down behind the sign.

"OK, OK, I just want to make sure that everything goes smoothly. No problems, no fights, just a simple date." he said as he began peaking through the window again.

Well while she didn't agree with what he was doing, in fact most people seemed to give him a strange look, she too wanted to know how the date was going so instead she knelt right behind him as the tried to listen in on them.

"Well look at you peeking as well." he teased as he pressed his ear against the glass.

"Hey I'm only doing this just to make sure things go alright for them. That's it."

"So like me." he replied as he gave her a toothy grin.

"Kind of, sort of. Whatever let's just watch."

Using his sonar ability through his ear he was able to lock in on the two and hear every word they were saying. From what he heard they seemed to be having a pretty enjoyable time. All they really seemed to talk about though was how their lives were going. It must have been tough for him not having a mother or father but he still had his friends and the club to cheer him up.

"Huh she says their going to go see Pacific Rim after this. A film that will touch your inner..."

Suddenly he felt a loud grumbling down in his stomach.

"Hey could you quiet your stomach?" she whispered.

"Hey I didn't have anything to drink this morning." he said as he waddled his way behind her.

He just wanted a little sip from her, but as soon as that hand came up he backed off.

"Drink from me and your skull gets split. I don't even care if you can recover from that."

Well damn, he didn't want to ruin their friendship so it looked like he was going to have to go exotic for his meal. While he was away though she continued to watch them. For two completely different monsters they did seem to make a pretty cute couple. He may have been a shapeshifter and she may have been a vampire but if they really did have feelings for each other that shouldn't keep them apart. Just when it seemed they were getting ready for desert they stood up from the table as he placed the money for the check on the table.

"Hey Al ready to head out?" she asked.

There was no response though. When she turned around he had disappeared from sight. She had an idea though as she stood up and peeked around the corner to find him about to bite into a sleeping girls neck. Just as she had figured, when he was hungry he was hungry.

"Hey, put her down and let's go!" she whispered loudly.

When his head popped up she looked rather surprised that she had found him in the alleyway right behind them.

"Just a sip."

"No we need to follow them."

"Come on it will on take two seconds."

"You can get something at the theater."

"But...fine"

While a drink from the theater would satisfy him it wouldn't satisfy him for long and he was sure that the employees wouldn't let him bring a blood bag in their clean theater by any chance. Perhaps they would get a bucket of popcorn or something, while drinks didn't help him to not drink blood most of the time human food did the trick.

"Sorry we couldn't do business babe." he said to the knocked out women as they took their leave.

Sometimes having him a friend had its annoying parts but she knew he was a good person, if not a bit weird but still good. Just as they started following them they could see the large Megaplex Theater not far down the road. It was the entertainment district after all so it was only by shear convenience that it wasn't that far away. They both seemed to not have caught onto them as they walked down the sidewalk like they didn't have a care in the world.

They carefully hid themselves in the line of people as they both pulled out seven dollars, the exact amount they needed to the matinee showing. Person after person bought their tickets before they walked inside the cold building. The movie had been out for a few weeks as expected when they entered their theater there were plenty of seats to choose from.

"Hey there they are. Now all we need to do it sit right up here so we can watch over them like hawks." he said as he slid down one of the middle rows and took a seat in the middle chair.

"Are you sure this is alright? I'm not feeling too good about this." she said as she sat right next to him.

"Relax, the only people here are us, them, and those who are about to be ripped to shreds by Gypsy Danger." he said excitedly

Well if they were going to watch them they could at least enjoy the movie. After all as a child she loved giant robots and the movie they were about to see had that and more. After the lights dimmed and the screen came on they all went silent as the opening trailers began rolling.

"What's with the big smile?" he asked as he poked her side with his elbow.

"Oh it's nothing. It's just nostalgia is all."

"Nostalgia eh? So you liked giant mechas back them?"

"Yeah kind of. Did you?"

"Kind of, I was a Kaiju fan myself. Although that might have been more of a personal preference. Giant mechas are cool too though."

She had no clue that he liked anime like that. For a second she thought he was going to say that it was offensive to monsters everywhere, but he seemed really mellow about it all. As the movie began they both found themselves having a pretty damn good time. Even during the dialogue scenes between the main characters they both had smiles on their faces. It was also the first time since they met that things seemed normal. No rogues were in the city, the club was a ways away from them, and all they were watching was a classic in cinema.

The two hours seemed to have flown by when the ending credits began playing and the lights cut back on. At that moment he flipped his hood back up and placed his shades back on as she tried to hide behind him as they walked out.

"That was actually pretty damn good." he said as they leaned against the wall across from them as they waited for their two friends.

"See, even a rough and tough monster like yourself can enjoy himself when he's not out fighting." she replied as she looked over at him.

"Heh yeah I guess your right." he said as he threw his soda in the trash can.

"Oh here they come."

Before they could be spotted he began to move towards the exit with her right in front of him to avoid her getting noticed. If they were to be discovered more than likely they would both ended up with big knots on their heads. Once they were outside they did a U-turn towards the ticket booth as they walked by and down the steps.

"That was pretty close." she said as she hid behind him.

"Oh look their on the move again." he said annoyingly as they followed them down the steps.

Where else were they going to go? She wasn't one to go to the mall and neither was he and the sun had already begun to fall behind the city.

"Jerell don't do anything stupid you got it..." he growled as his form began fading.

"Pst, your body." she warned.

His white hair had already begun to appear as well as his red eyes but once she snapped him back into it he was fine.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah let's just say they better not rent a hotel room together or there might be some repercussions."

"He wouldn't do that would he?"

"Maybe, but you can never be too careful."

But where they were lead to next just confused them. Instead of going back to the club or back to her house they instead walked into a alleyway bear the bakery. For a second it looked as if they were just going to talk more but instead something rather strange happened. As they watched around the corner they saw her push him against the wall and bare her fangs.

"Oh damn sis your going to do that?"

"What's she doing?"

"Their going straight to necking." he said as they watched.

From just out of nowhere she bit down on his neck as he just bit down on hers without drawing any blood.

"Think of this like a kiss from out kind." he said as he watched his innocent sister claim him.

At first he wasn't sure what to think but as he saw her smile he just shook his head and stood up. He had seen enough to know that he could trust him with his sister.

"Al, come back. Something is happening."

"What is it?"

When he returned he saw that his sister had been pulled apart from Jerell and was up against the wall while he was held at knife point.

"Well if it isn't big bad Jerell. I thought we told you to leave and never return to this part of the city eh? Did we not get it through your head the first time?" their leader said as he held up his knife.

"Look Kazon we were just heading home. Put down your knife and maybe I won't break your arm."

Before the situation could escalate Julie pulled her phone out and began dialing for the police when Al pushed the phone back into her purse.

"That won't be necessary. There's a reason they are both partner."

Oh she didn't want to see but if she did call the police the thugs might run away when they hear the sirens.

"Maybe we should take your girlfriend here back to our place and, how should I say, rough her up a bit? Don't worry we'll return her to you, or at least what's left of her." Kazon said as he held him at bay.

Great, he had left the gang to get away from their bullshit but it just seemed to be destined that he would return to it in some form or another. Once his eyes met with Elas he knew what to do. All he had to do was wait.

"What do you say girly? Want to come with us?" one of his goons said as he reached for her chest.

That was the worst move he could have made.

"Let's both be girls." she said with a grin as she rammed her knee right into his crotch.

Thanks to her the cries from his goon gave her new boyfriend just the distraction he needed.

"Hey what the hell?!"

While Kazon was distracted Jerell used his fist and knocked the knife out of his hand before he began whaling away at his face. Ela wasn't left out of the fun either as she upper kicked the pervert and sent him down.

"There, you got what you wanted." she said as she spat on his face.

They weren't done yet though. Even if two had been taken care of three still remained. Even if they were outnumbered though they could still take them. As soon as they drew their knives though they both got the same idea. Quickly Jerell too her right arm as she held on with her left and with one good swing he nailed each guy in the kidneys with the tip of her boot.

"Wow, that's actually kind of sexy." he said as she let go of his arm.

"Kind of...hm?" she said as she gave him a wink.

It seemed the the fight was over, that was until Kazon began standing back up.

"Come on man you lost. Just stay down like the dog you are." said Jerell.

"A dog eh...you're the dog here. Your just a dumbass who can't handle a woman."

With that last punch the punk sealed his fate. Instead of dodging his ex team member grabbed his fist as he balled up his own.

"Want to help me finish him off my dear?" he asked of Ela.

"Gladly..."

As much as he tried to beg they simply couldn't stop. Instead they both delivered two good punches to the underside of his chin which made quick work of him.

"Whew, well then ready to head back? Julie and Al are probably anxious to know how it all went." he said as they both took each others hands.

As they walked out from the opposite way the went in both Alucard and Julie stepped out to check out the damage.

"Wow, well they did deserve it."

"Yep, well we better head back."

But then just as before she was interrupted by his growling stomach.

"Oh I knew that soda wouldn't hold me." he said as he held his poor grumbling tummy.

When he turned his head to follow Julie he saw that she had pulled her hair back until her neck was exposed.

"Well are you going to eat or not?"

"Huh are you sure?"

"Just don't take too much. I would like to stay awake thank you very much." she said as she put on a smile.

She didn't mind letting him feed even if it was a bit weird, but he did tend to take a bit more than what he needed. He was a hog she guessed but even so she didn't want to hear him complain all the way back. After he looked around to see no one he laid his hands on her shoulders before he bared his fangs once more. With a slight sting he bit into her neck and began feeding but instead he got this funny feeling while drinking. Could she really have been his match?

"I'm not necking you just so you know." he said as he saw her biting her lip.


	16. Chapter 16 It Begins

Chapter 15

It Begins

After all that happened she just wanted to get home, take a show and head to bed. The sun has already fallen and the moon had begun to rise when she opened the door. It was quiet for the most part except for her father who was watching his football game. He sure loved his football but with all the cheering she was going to need some music to drown it all out. After she sat her purse down she began walking up the stairs when she heard her fathers voice calling for her.

"Julie, could you come in here. I need to talk to you about something." he said as he got up from his couch.

"Sorry dad but I'm pretty beat. We can talk about it tomorrow ok? Good night."

As he watched his little girl walk up the stairs he began to think back to when he himself was a teen. Fun times were had but he also had to listen to his parents and when they had something to say he listened whether he wanted to or not. What he needed to tell her was extremely important and she needed to hear it. So without another thought he marched up the stairs and prepared to open the door when he heard her scream come from the other side.

"Julie!"

When he opened the door he saw something holding her while it covered her mouth. A boy with light blonde hair, terrifying green eyes, and razor sharp teeth. All he did was grin as him as he got closer to the open window.

"You've sealed Earths fate." he said as he let out a loud screech.

"You bastard give her back!"

With all the power behind his arm he lunged forward and attempted to punch him, but instead he found him punching the wall as the boy moved around him. What was he? He couldn't even see his movements.

"What a cute little girl. It's a shame she has to die." he said as his long serpent tongue ran across the side of her face.

He wasn't giving up so easily. Once he turned around he tried to kick his side to avoid hitting his own daughter but instead he grabbed his ankle and picked him up off the ground. With one throw he was thrown from the room. The last thing he saw was his child being carried away by the beast.

Meanwhile at the club many of their fellow monsters began calling it a night as Alucard, his sister and Jerell stayed behind to clean up as usual. Bottles of gunk littered the floor as they began picking them all up while Jerell began sweeping up.

"You would think Cyclopes would have better table manners." said Alucard as he tossed a bottle into his trash bag.

"Well we can't leave this place like this. Let's just hurry up and get this done so we can go home."

He had a point. Once they were done there Ela would be left alone with Jerell so they could watch over the city during the night while he went home and passed the time with video games and movies. It felt kind of unfair but it was their choice to take up the duty when her father offered it to them. As he picked up the trash he noticed that one guy still remained.

"Hey buddy sorry but the party is over for tonight..."

But when he looked closer he saw that his eyes were glowing a bright red as he lifted his head only to mutter a single word.

"Alucard..." he growled.

Just from looking at him he could tell he wasn't a friendly so with a swift throw he threw a empty bottle at him only for him to dodge and climb up into the rafters above.

"Hey what's going on over here?" his sister asked as they both ran over to him.

"Looks like we have a late night partier." he said as he pulled out his Stinger.

He wasn't along though. They watched as ten more began to take shape as they all growled at them. Well if they wanted to play then they would play. As soon as all ten jumped down Al used his own dark power and funneled it into his blade before he let lose a large shock wave that hit at least six of them while the others began running towards them. Their arms were made from meta blades, their eyes were completely hollow and their bones were sticking out from their bodies. What a fun time they were going to have.

With his own power Jerell turned into a cyclops in order to take on more while Ela sat up on his shoulder while she summoned forth her axe. Once she had it she went to work, swiping and slicing she cut through two of them with ease while her partner crushed one under his foot only to have the blade cut the bottom of his foot.

"Geez, ever heard of normal weapons?" he asked as he picked up one of the booth seats and began clobbering them all.

On the other side of the room Al was taking care of their leader. He was quick but not quick enough to escape his flash step. Bit by bit he began to slice off chunks of his flesh while he tried to cut through his blade.

"Heh you know you could just start eating more. Ever think about fast food?" he asked as he jumped over him.

Whatever this guy was he could sure take a beating but that didn't stop him not one bit. With a good slice to the back the beast's blood began spilling out. It was time to end it. With his sword in one hand he began gather as much dark energy into his left and as he prepared to incinerate the fool.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you if you ever want to see your girlfriend alive." he groaned as he held his opened stomach.

"What? Who...Julie!"

With his guard dropped the beast took the opportunity and used his own power. Suddenly chains broke through the wall and began wrapping around his wrists and legs before they began pulling him against the wall.

"What in the hell are these things?!" he grunted as he tried to break the bonds that held him.

Breaking through chains shouldn't have been that hard but when he looked closer he saw that these chains had been enchanted but not in a normal way. Abnormal dark energy flowed over them and that's why he could escape.

"Poor little vampire. You never ever learn and never ever change. Alucard that one who kills his own kind. Alucard the fool of mortal and monsters. Your forever cursed and forever doomed. Consumed by justice till his last breath. He lights the way to his dusty death."

Alright this guy was really starting to piss him off but with the chains confining him to the wall he couldn't do anything. If only he could of reached his sword then he could of used his power to slice through the chains.

"Now how shall we do it? Maybe I should cut off each of your climbs and watch you bleed to death, slowly, painfully or maybe I should just stab your heart and watch you crumble into dust. Which one do you prefer?" he asked as he began sharping his blades on each other.

Which one did he want? Well his answer was a loud screech to his eardrums.

"I see, well then to the heart it is!"

With no way to escape his bonds and with his hand being so far apart he had no chance to hitting him. All he did was close his eyes as he listed to the whistle of the blade as he lunged forward.


	17. Chapter 17 The Fear Inside

Chapter 16

The Fear Inside

What had happened? The last thing she could remember was the sound of her fathers voice as he tried to fight back against the invader. As her eyes opened she felt the cold wind of the night wash against her body as her vision began to focus. She wasn't on the ground but instead hanging from the ceiling in some sort of old factory, but why had she been brought there? What were they planning to do with her? As she looked up she saw that a set of chains held her in place and not only that her body had been stripped completely naked.

"Ah you're finally awake. Good I don't want you to be sleeping when the fun really starts."

When she looked down she saw the same boy who had taken her away was sitting in a desk below her. What kind of sick fuck was this guy?

"Now I'm sure this is all very confusing to you but be assured I will explain it all to you." he said as a pair of wing sprouted from her back.

Her body trembled as he flew up to her. Those eyes, they were so empty of any emotion. Just from looking at them she could tell he had no fear, no love, and no sadness within him. What did he want with her though? She was only a simple human.

"Why did you do this?" she asked as her voice trembled.

"Why? That's a good question. Am I killing you just for fun or is there a purpose behind it? Can someone truly kill another without a single purpose in their mind? No my dear I have my reasons." he said as he began groping one of her breasts.

"S-Stop my friends will find you!" she shouted as she shook in her bonds in an attempt to get him to stop.

"Your friends? You mean that vampire right? Alucard was it? A very interesting boy mind you, talented, strong, somewhat smart. He disgusts me!" he growls as his nails began penetrating her flesh.

"He..."

"He what? He's a hero? All hail the slayer of monsters right? The protector of humans! He was nothing more than a disgrace among our kind." he said as he finally let go, leaving her in one piece.

What did he mean by was?

"Oh what's with that look on your face? Are you afraid for his life? Well your too late for that. Your friend Alucard...is dead."

"What...? No it can't be. He's, he's to strong to fall to you!"

"Please, by now his body has already collapsed into ash. You can thank my minions for that."

It couldn't be could it? He wouldn't fall to one of his minions would he? Even as she thought about it sadness began welling up inside. Al, Ela, Jerell. Were they all really dead? As her head hung a few drops of tears began falling as he returned to his previous position.

"Why are you cry? Don't worry you'll be reunited with them soon enough."

She could barely see as her eyes watered up. Just picturing them all turning to piles, it tore her up. Through everything they had gone through, the first fight, the water park, Al and Jerell's defeat, the underground city, and Ela's secret, all of that was gone. She could only watch as he walked right under her and slammed his hands down on the ground.

"My pets are feeling a bit hungry. I hope you don't mind if I feed them." he said with a despicable grin on his face.

A dark voice opened up beneath her as glowing red eyes and loud growls and groans began filling the air. Their jaws kept snapping at the air between her and them as they got her sweet scent. Was she really destined to become food for these thing? No she wanted to live! As she struggled in her bonds her captor simply walked over to the lever that controls the device that was above that rafters.

"Heh they sure seem real hungry tonight. I guess the darkness of the night helped with that?"

If he pulled that lever she would fall to her death and become nothing more than bloody chunks while his pets ate her. She began screaming and struggling even more as she saw his hand begin to move. That's when she heard his voice.

"Huh it's not really my kind of hang out but I can dig it." a voice echoed as the doors opened up.

When both of their heads turned their eyes widened when they saw who it was.

"Alucard, you're really alive?!" Julie cheered.

"Well of course I am and you're naked. Oi, talk about awkward." he said as he stepped further in.

She should have known he wouldn't have been killed. He was too good for that and too stubborn. All he had were a few scratches along his arms but that's all the battle damage he retained.

"How, how did you live?!" the boy growled.

"Please, I've taken on enemies tougher than this guy." he said as he threw his servant down to the ground.

Once he hit the ground he began trying to crawl back to his master as his legs bled out.

"Please master, save me..." he groaned as his blood covered the flood.

Like hell Alucard was going to let him get away after what he did to him. With a single stab to his chest the beast melted into the shadows. With his blade already covered in blood he simply swung it to once side to get the blood off.

"So my friend you managed to escape from those chains."

"Uh no, it's something called teamwork. My friends simply grabbed him before he could land the final blow and after that they cut me down. Their still back there cleaning up so it's just you and me." he replied as he spun his sword.

All they heard was a chuckle as he pulled his hand away from the lever and began walking back to his desk.

"Very well the feeding can wait. After all there's no rush in killing you right princess?"he asked Julie as he kicked the desk aside.

So this was the guy who took her from her own, stripped her down and god only knew what other things he probably did to her.

"Maybe you should give your name first. That way when I stomp you I can address you in the proper way."

"Heh cocky bastard aren't you? My name or Vorgin, remember that as you fall into oblivion!"

Suddenly the wind began to pick up as Vorgin's back began opening up. At first they were confused but then from the crevice huge streams of pure black energy began flying towards them as they sharpened to a point.

"Hah no one can survive that not even a pure blood vampire like yourself!"

At first it seemed that way but upon looking closer they saw that he hadn't even been struck. With the side of his blade he stopped every single one of them before he gave them all a good chop to destroy them. When more began pouring out he simply ran ahead and using his might strangth began chopping down each stream until he was left face to face with his foe.

"Good move, but you forgot one thing." he said as he swung his sword.

With a clear opening he swung at his chest only for him to block with his own blade. Once they broke apart Alucard just began chuckling.

"Man you are an idiot. Have you forgotten what they call us vampires?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Creatures of the night. Even though during the day in direct sunlight our powers are cut in the darkness of the night when the sun falls our powers double." he said as he tapped his shoulder with his blade.

"Creatures of the night...wonderful. Now maybe I can have a real challenge!"

They knew they were both thinking the same thing. In a flash they vanished from sight with only the sparks in the air to give her a hint as to where they were. Not only had his strength doubles but his speed as well. It didn't matter how fast Vorgin was he could match him. With each clash sparks of darkness appeared until they both stopped on top of the rafters above.

"Why are you doing this? Why her?" he asked as they clashed once more.

"Have you yet to realize it by now? You're even more blind than I thought!" he replied as they seperated.

"Realize what?" he grunted as they flew back down to the ground.

As they rose to their feet his eyes were drawn to Julie who was looking down at them both. All he did was give her a reassuring smile as he tossed his sword into their air and punched the ground. Once the big chunk of cement came loose he grabbed it and threw it at her captor who then sliced it in half with his blade. This gave him an opportunity t charge up an attack and just when the chunk opened up he fired off four good shots at him. It didn't help though for he just jumped to an old conveyer belt.

"Don't you see? I want to bring our kind back to the top. With the help of my master we will reclaim Earth for our own. Humans will be nothing more than pet and food to us." he said as he

"Please, like we'll let you do that."

"They use to hunt us! They would use our own weakness to kill thousands of our kind and you want to protect this species?!"

"Heh you know Vorgin you're right. They use to do that and some may still do. They have made some terrible mistakes in their lives and you know what?"

With his foe distracted by his word he hid his hand behind his back so his attack could charge up while he began walking around.

"What is it that I don't know? Humans are the worst and with our plan our kind will rise back up from the ashes and take what is ours once and for all."

"You see that's your problem. Humans have made mistakes but then again..." he said as he vanished.

In an instant he reappeared in front of Vorgin with his attack fully charged.

"We have as well."

With one thrust of his arm the attack hit its mark. In a flash his foe was sent flying into the wall behind him as his flesh burned from the intense fire. With Vorgin down it was time to finish the job.

"Sorry about this but you've just got stomped." he said as he raised his sword.

Even with his opponent still alive he could smell that fresh heart inside his chest just waiting to be claimed. When he swung his sword down though he heard what sounded like wind as the shadows from all around began materializing into small,black dust particles before they began flooding around him.

"I told you that you couldn't win. Now experience your fear!"

Suddenly his body began to tense up as his sword fell from his hand. She could only watched as he raised his hand as her friend began levitating off the ground while the particles began expanding around his body.

"Let him go!" she yelled to him.

"Quiet princess, your time will come soon enough. It's his time right now."

Being inside the cloud began straining his body as he attempted to move his arms and legs. All he could do though was watch as Vorgin clenched his hand shut. Everything fades away as images began popping up inside his mind. Images of death, misunderstanding, and war.

"These are all my...fears?" he grunted.

Could these have been related to his fear of not being excepted by humanity for what he really was and instead causing nothing but violence. As the images flashed the grip on his body began getting tighter and tighter until he flashed back to reality. With each squeeze of his hand Vorgin struck him with immense pain. He could hardly breathe as he struggled to get free.

"Put him down! Take me instead!" she cried out.

"I said quiet girl! Watch now as your friend dies." he growled as he prepared for the final shock.

She couldn't do anything as she hung there forced to watch him suffer. If he continued his body would be completely crushed.

"Your bravery won't save you this time hero! Your world will fade away!"

Once he said what he had to say to his enemy Alucard he began clenching his fist for the last time when a loud roar echoed throughout the building. The next thing he knew his left arm had been complete torn off by what looked like a black, flame dragon. As soon as he lost his arm he lost control as the cloud disappeared and his foe fell back to the ground.

"Now my son how many times do I have to tell you? Don't talk just fight." they heard as someone else entered through the doorway.

This time it was a man with pearl white hair and red eyes much like Alucards but instead of a coat he wore a white and black dance suit and a dress hat.

"Son? Then that must mean your...one of the three?" grunted Vorgin as he stood back up.

"The name is Vlad, but you can just call me Chad if you wish." he replied as he grabbed his son and pulled him to his feet.

"Dad, it took you long enough huh?"

"What can I say? I love being fashionably late." he said as he spun his pistols on both fingers.

They were cut short they as they heard their little friend begin to chuckle as he moved over to the lever.

"You might have saved your son but you're too late for her." he grunted as he grabbed the lever.

With one pull Julie found herself falling towards the pit of monsters. Her head began filling with fear as their jaws got closer and closer to her. She didn't want to die! Her body began shaking just when Alucard jumped to her rescue. With a clean jump he grabbed her and pulled her out from over the pit and away from harm.

"Alright let's get this off of you." he said as he tore the chains apart.

When he went to pick her up her body went limp and just fell back to the ground.

"Julie? Come on snap out of it!" he said as he patted the side of her face.

She was still alive but in shock from almost falling into that pit.

"Hey son you might want to take your girlfriend home now!" his father suggested as his pistols combined to form a mini gun.

Well if she wasn't going to walk he was just going to have to carry her. Once he had his coat around her body he picked her up into his arms before they disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.


	18. Chapter 18 The Blood Partner

Chapter 17

The Blood Partner

Why had he tried to kill her? Was it because of him? Was he trying to bait him into some sort of trap? No, he had said something about a master and how he had a plan to terminate all humans and bring the race of monsters back to their old glory. He needed to kill her for some reason but why? What could he have gained from killing her? Whatever his plan was one thing was for sure with the help of his friends and family they were going to figure out what it was and stop it. If they didn't and what he said happened then it would be the end of all human existence.

Through pure luck he had managed to escape with his life but if he had stayed around both of them would have been dead. His father wasn't one to go lightly on those who put his own children in danger let alone another human life. Once they were back home everything seemed just a little bit better. Virgo had no clue where they had gone so for the time being they were safe, but as for Julie her body was trembling and her eyes never seemed to move. He had to calm her down somehow.

The house seemed relatively empty when they arrived which was good. Now he just had to sit her down and try and relax her. Now the only question was how was he going to do that? Perhaps slapping her would knock her out of it, but then again that would only hurt her. What about biting her he thought but then he realized that doing so might have only terrified her even more. Damn it, he hadn't even been in such a situation where someone was scared so bad they were like a doll. When he turned her head to her though he thought of something that would put his mind at ease until he could figure it out.

"Let's just button this up shall we?" he said as he grabbed the coats first button.

If she knew he had seen her in the nude who knew what would happen? Thankfully for both of them the coat covered up most of her body once it had been all buttoned up. Now that he had taken care of that all he had to do was relax and think. Sitting on the couch usually relaxed him but before he could take a seat he head a strange noise come from behind him.

"Young Alucard..." he heard.

Was this guy an enemy or a friend? He couldn't take any chances, once he stepped away from the couch he reached for the sword handle in his pocket and clicked it once so the blade folded out, but when he turned to attack the man had already been a step ahead. As soon as that blade came near his hands he opened up his fingers and held it between them like it was nothing.

"What the hell man?! Let go!" he yelled as he tried to take his sword back.

Who was this guy and how could he stop the strength of a vampire with only two fingers? Not only that but every single time he tried to yank his blade back he simply held it in place.

"Calm down, I am not your enemy. Just listen to me for one second. Can I see the girl?" he asked as he released the blade.

With that white cloak covering most of his face he couldn't really get a good idea of who he was but the voice sounded kind of familiar. Like he had heard it years ago when he was a child. Even so he couldn't trust him right away so even when he stepped aside he held that sword as tight as he could in case he tried anything funny.

"Hm I see what happened. There's no need to worry she'll be fine." he said as he placed his hand on her forehead.

There was a sudden blue light that lit up his hand before she fell to her side. From the looks of it he didn't kill her but she was definitely out from the look of it.

"What did you do?" he asked as he lowered his weapon.

"I calmed her mind. The event won't trouble her anymore." he said as he stepped away.

As he walked back into the shadows he turned to face him as if he had something important to say.

"Alucard I must thank you for looking out for her. Ever since she was a child I myself have been keeping a watchful eye on her but it's good to know that someone else really cares about her."

"Well you know I can't just let a friend die like that." he replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Good, because you're going to need her if the future comes to pass."

"Wait, do you mean where all humans are destroyed? That future?"

All he did was nod before he raised his hand.

"An enemy unlike anything you've ever faced is coming. It will turn this world into a living nightmare and will kill all those who oppose it no matter what. Be wary my friend. Keep her safe and when the time comes you two will become one." he said as his body began to fade into the shadows.

"Hey wait! Who are you?! Can't I at least get your telephone number?!"

But he was too late. By the time he had asked the mysterious man had vanished from sight leaving them both alone again.

"A living nightmare...could it be? No way." he thought to himself as he turned back around just in time to watch Julie awaken.

She seemed a bit dazed but at the same time OK. None of those things had gotten a bite out of her and thank to the stranger she seemed to be a-OK. As he walked over she looked up at him with sleepy eyes.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked.

"No I'm alright. What's with this coat though?" she asked as she began to unbutton it.

"Eh you better not. It's best to leave it like that." he said as he pulled her hands away from it.

"What's wrong? It wasn't like I was...oh no. Please tell me I'm not naked under here."

He couldn't even look her in the eyes as he looked the other way and just whistled. As soon as he heard her scream he knew he was in for it. Not only had he seen her like that but he might have accidentally touched her...somewhere.

"I'm sorry I had to catch you before you fell in! I didn't mean to see you naked you just were!" he exclaimed as he bowed to her as an apology.

The reaction he expected was either a slap to the face or a kick to the man marbles but instead she just hugged his coat tighter as she sat up straight.

"It's not your fault. You were just protecting me. It's me who should be thanking you. If you hadn't come then I might not be alive right now." she said as she looked up at him.

Her face was still like a tomato though but at least they were both safe and both still in one piece. Once he sat down he kicked back and just relaxed. If he knew his father well he had probably finished off that punk Virgo while his mother scouted for more intruders. The one thing that troubled him was how did they manage to get past the barrier? Well if any of them returned he would be ready and he needed to let her know that.

"Hey listen if you don't feel comfortable going back home you can stay here until everything is straightened out." he offered.

"Thanks but my dad is probably worried sick about me." she said as she nestled into the seat.

"Well then I'll hide in your closet and watch over you from there. You know like a ninja, nin nin."

It was kind of funny, for the first he actually made her giggle.

"I don't think my dad would approve of a boy staying with me in my own room."

"True, well then I'll just slide under the bed and pop out when he's not around. We will make this an adventure if that's what it takes to make sure your safe."

As she listened to him she began to realize that Ela had been right. When she first found out about their secret he had been a bit harsh but now he seemed to really care about her well being.

"Are you sure it isn't just my blood you're trying to protect?" she teased.

Just when he was about to speak suddenly he was propelled forward and into the fire place.

"Your guard was down my boy! Your too easy to sneak up on!"

Oh great his dad had come to ruin the moment. This time though he wasn't going to put up with his crap. As soon as he dusted his clothes off he tackled his old man as they began rolling around the living room as they punched and kicked each other.

"Stop doing that damn it!" he yelled as they bounced around like two angry cats.

"You need to learn a lesson in element of surprise!" he responded.

It was strange but also kind of funny to her to see them both fighting. They were father and son but they acted like they were more like brothers. Did they always fight each other when they screwed up or were they just fighting each other to fight each other? It didn't last long however as when they rolled back into the living room they were both grabbed by his mothers, their heads slammed against each other before they were tossed over the couch.

"How many times to I have to tell you two? If you want to fight take it outside!" she exclaimed angrily.

Wow, the last time she had seen her she acted so innocent and delicate but now she saw the other side of her. The more angry side with furious red eyes.

"Eva my darling. We were just having a little tussle was all. I had to teach him about the element of surprise." Vlad said as they both jumped to their feet.

"Teaching me? You punched me out of nowhere and sent me into the fireplace!"

"Enough! We have other tasks at hand." she said as her daughter and Jerell came walking through the door.

"Whew it looks like everyone is ok." she said as Jerell took a seat in their lounge chair.

Indeed, it seemed that everyone had escaped relatively unharmed with the exceptions of a few cuts and bruises but those were very minor. Still they had things to talk about, things dealing with what had happened before.

"While our fight waged I think I figured out who's behind this." said Vlad.

"It's Virgo right?" asked his son.

"In a way yes but he's not our main concern. There was something else that hadn't revealed itself yet. It felt very much like the time you fought in the church. It had that same feel to it."

"What are you saying dad?" asked his daughter.

"I'm afraid that Nightmare may be coming."

"Nightmare?" asked Julie.

"He's the lord of the realm of sleep. He feeds off peoples fears and nightmares. That's what makes him stronger. The more fear one has while around him the more he can feast on. It seems though that he's still too weak even after he escaped his own realm." he said after he sat down.

"So what kind of damage are we talking if he fully recharges? Hundreds? Thousands?" asked Jerell.

"Worse, every single human on Earth will be wiped out. He will have no mercy on them. Man, woman, and child, they will all be consumed."

Wow, a beast that could destroy the entire human race? Things were getting pretty heavy. It sounded like nothing they had ever faced before in their time as the city's protectors.

"No big deal, I killed him once I'll just kill him again." said Alucard as he jumped back onto the couch.

"It won't be that simple. What you defeated was a failed copy of the original. The real Nightmare will take all of us to defeat and that's just guessing. We may need some outside help."

If what his dad had said was true and he had just defeated a clone then they were in some deep crap. That so called clone almost took him down, if he hadn't reacted in time he wouldn't have survived.

"I think it would be best if we all use our Blood Contracts from now on to deal with rogues from here on out." said Eva.

"There's only one problem though. He doesn't have a blood partner." her daughter said as she pointed at her brother.

"Oh yeah, that's true. Without one he can't release his next stage." said Jerell.

Blood partners, he hated thinking about it but he had indeed found his match but the question was did he want to tell them?

"I-I did find a match guys. A few days ago I heard the beat of the sign." he said as he got up.

He didn't look too happy about it though. Normally when one found a blood partner they were excited but he just looked depressed.

"You did? Well good on ya son now tell us where are they?"

He couldn't bare to do it to her but once he raised his hand he simply pointed to Julie before he bowed his head. He hated it so much. He had promised to protect not only the town but her as well and thanks to the sign he would probably have to throw her into combat.

"You're joking right? Julie? When did this happen? When did you hear the sign?" asked his sister.

"After me and Jerell failed to succeed in our mission I may have bitten her and when I tasted her blood they seemed to sync up. Just like yours and Jerell's."

As he stood there Julie got up as he held onto the coat.

"What's a blood partner?" she asked.

"It's a human or a monster that's blood syncs up with our own perfectly. By signing a contract they both become partners."

"I'm guessing it's not a normal contract right?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's a contract signed in your blood. When someone becomes a blood partner they stand inside a circle and each drop only a single droplet of their own blood inside. Once that happens their partner will become infused with power and their vampire partner will gain their final form, a form more powerful than they've ever known."

He was afraid of that. He didn't want to put her into any danger. After what happened that night he just wanted her to be safe again but if she was to become his partner then that all had to be thrown out the window.

"You're forgetting something sister..." he said as he raised his head.

As she looked at his face it became filled with both fear not towards what the possible future could be but from what could happen to her if they went through with it. She didn't know how to feel about it either. She couldn't fight against monsters like that. If she did her ass would probably get killed in a second.

"What it is?" she asked.

He took a deep breathe before he finally told her the truth.

"If you're a human and you become a partner you lose your humanity. You become eternal just as we are."


	19. Chapter 19 Dark Matter Princess

Chapter 18

Dark Matter

After all that had happened that night she just wanted to get home and reassure her dad that she was OK. Thanks to that punk Vorgin he probably knew about her little secret, but maybe she was wrong. Only time would tell. After their little discussion about her being Al's blood partner she needed some new clothes but thanks to her both herself and Ela were around the same size. They were a bit tight but they did just fine. Once she was dressed and ready to go Ela had decided to walk her home. On the way out though Julie took one last look at Al and saw that he seemed a bit down.

As they began walking down the sidewalk in the direction of her house her mind began filling with questions not about the whole partner thing but about herself. If she chose to become his blood partner would she really be strong enough to stand against their foes? Even if she knew some fighting moves her own strength was nothing compared to her friends. While they could punch through concrete and tear through metal she could only barely break bones. Not only that but she was also much slower than them. Only time would tell.

"Hm? Hey come on cheer up. You still have a few days to make up your mind. I know it's not an easy decision to make but you will find the answer." said Ela as they rounded the corner.

"Will I? I'm not like you guys Ela. I don't have your kind of strength or speed, even if I did become his partner I would still be just another human."

"Yes but a human with powers. Look I know what must be going through your mind right now but you have to do what you know is right. If you don't want to become his partner then we'll just have to find more help. Although I think he would want you to be his."

"What do mean by that?" she asked as she lifted her head.

"You're not like other humans Julie. When you discovered our secret you didn't tell anyone. When he was in trouble your blood fixed him. You know how to defend yourself quite well and with some training with him you both could become quite strong."

"I don't know..."

"It's a dangerous job yes but it feels really good when you finish off the beast and realize you've just saved your home. Take some time to think about it and in a few days you can give us your answer." she replied as they arrived at her front door.

She still wasn't too sure about it all. Would she really become stronger if she trained with him? Would she really be any help in his missions? She just needed some time to ponder the questions. When the time came she would know what to chose.

"Oh yeah I forgot to mention. In your closet, there's a present there for you." she said before she began walking down the steps.

"What is it?"

"Oh you'll see." she giggled as she began running back home.

Well that was the first time she had heard her giggle. Still she just wanted to get inside and get to bed before anything else happened. Once she opened the door she kicked off her shoes and began quietly walking towards the stairs when she heard her dad stop her.

"Julie, would you mind coming in here for minute. There's something I need to discuss with you." he said as he sat on their couch.

Well whatever it was she just wanted to get it over with so without another step she turned and made her way to the couch were her dad was sitting. Everything seemed normal until she looked over the couch. Sitting in front of it was a large, black chest. She didn't bother asking him what was in the chest though as she sat down beside him. Silence surrounded them for a brief moment before he broke it.

"Julie I know about Alucard and the others. I know you've been playing around with monsters for a while now."

"What, wait what are you talking about?" she said in an attempt to confuse him as her heart rate began to rise.

"You don't need to play dumb sweetie I know about them all. I know about the club and about Yokai city."

How? How could he have known about all of that? Unless he was following her and he came upon them. Is that what had happened.

"Please dad before you say anything let me explain. Their not bad like the stories make them out to be, they protect the city and Alucard saved me from my death last night. They don't want to harm us. Please you have to believe me." she said as quickly as she could.

Silence fell on them once more before he broke it with only a chuckle.

"I know sweetie I know. I'm just relieved that you found out on your own is all. You see I know about all this monster business in this city, every little bit. You know maybe it's best if I just show you."

What did he mean by he was going to show her? Whatever it meant she was about to find out. Once he was on his feet he turned around to face his daughter as the truth began to come out. As soon as he removed his wedding ring his body began to softly glow as his outfit changed from a normal navy blue button up shirt and jeans to a white and gold cloak but that wasn't all. Upon looking at his face she saw that not only was his clothes changing but also his body. It looked as if he was getting younger by the second as the bumpy texture of his flesh began fading away to reveal a more smooth and natural texture. He no longer looked like her father, the only thing that reminded her of him was the blonde hair which had a new ponytail sticking out of the back. What in the living hell had just happened was all that ran through her mind as she sat there speechless.

"I know it seems strange to you but I'm still your dad just a more younger dad."

"But-But how? What are you?"

"Hm well to put it in simpler terms I'm a mage of sorts. Actually our official monster names are Magnams. We are able to manipulate objects and use the elements to out advantage however we please. I've been alive for over two thousand years and in order to fit in with the humans I enchanted this ring to create an illusion that I was older. Actually it's kind of funny I'm only twenty three, then again that was when I stopped aging." he said as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"But, what does this have to do with me? Am I..."

"No, no you're something far more special. If you would could you open that chest for me?"

All of what had just happened still stunned her as she got up from her seat and walked over to the chest. Just being near it she could feel a familiar presence around it as she reached for the key that was inside the lock. At first it startled her but as soon as she touched the metal key it turned on its own as the little gears inside began turning as well. With a loud click the chest opened slightly.

"Don't worry nothing is going to hurt you." he said.

With a gulp she took both sides of the metal top and lifted it up and what was inside? Three things that she recognized from the book Alucard had shown her the two days earlier. The gauntlet, the scythe, and the black container, they were all there.

"What is all of this?" she asked as she picked up the gauntlet.

"Their Dark Matter Artifacts. Only those from the bloodline of the royal Dark Matter race can use them...and only one can open that box."

Quickly her head turned to him before she looked back down at the gauntlet and dropped it. The objects, that name. The name that Al had told her back then. Was it really true.

"Your mother was the Dark Matter Princess and now so are you." he said as he reached inside and grabbed the folded up scythe.

She didn't want to take it. He had been lying to her her entire life. Instead she pushed her hand away and ran up to her room with her footsteps echoing through the house.

"I'm sorry my dear..." he said as he placed the weapon back inside the chest.

How could he have lied to his own daughter for so long? Every day, every damn day she was not even a human being. She acted like one and looked like one but on the inside she wasn't one. Did that mean the way she looked was also a lie? Was her very appearance just another body like Alucard's and the others? Why didn't he tell her from the beginning? She and Alucard could have grown up together along side Ela and Jerell. They wouldn't have had to worry about her keeping their secret because she was the same damn thing, a monster. Once she was in her room she closed and locked the door before she jumped onto her bed and buried her head in a pillow.

"Why didn't he just tell me!" she yelled inside her mind as she tried to forget what had happened.

As she laid there though she remembered that Ela had said there was a present for her inside her closet. Maybe what it was would cheer her up. As she got up she dried her eyes before she walked over to her closet doors and opened them. What was inside she didn't expect. It wasn't a items but instead Alucard was inside hanging upside down from the beam that held her clothes.

"Wow major headache coming on." he said as he smiled at her.

She didn't smile back though as she left the closet and just rolled back onto her head. Oh he knew something was wrong. He may not have been a ladies man but he knew something was up with her. Once he jumped down he stretched for a bit before he walked himself over to her bed.

"Alright let's talk. What's wrong? You can't hide it from me, come on let's here it." he said as he pulled up a chair and crossed his legs.

Again the stubborn girl still wouldn't speak. Well if he knew anything about girl it was that they always had one weakness that would make them talk. Without a sound he began tickling her side only to watch her giggle as she rolled around on her bed.

"Tell me and I'll stop. I can go on all night." he said with a devious grin as he continued to tickle her.

"Ok ok I'll tell you just stop please!" she pleaded.

Finally the torture stopped as she sat up on her bed and curled up.

"Al, do you ever hate being a monster? Don't you ever wish you were just a normal human?" she asked as she turned to him for his answer.

"Well back in my early years yeah I kind of did but nowadays I never regret being born into a family of monsters. It's not all that different from being born into a family of humans." he answered.

"But if you were human you could..."

"Alright I know what's wrong now. You found out didn't you? That your really a monster am I right?"

"How did you know?"

"Well my dad told me about what you really were before I came here. Yeah it turns out he and your are good buddies. Look being a monster isn't bad at all, yeah it may take some getting use to but you can't deny who you really are."

"But this isn't who I am. I always thought I was a human but now, now I know the truth. I'm just a monster and my dads been hiding it from me."

As she began rolling back onto her side she felt him take her shoulders and pull her back so she was facing him again.

"Here I want you to watch this." he said as he stepped into the moonlight the shined through her window.

All of a sudden he began changing his forms back and forth over and over again. First human then vampire, human, vampire, until he stopped at vampire.

"What's your point?"

"Look at me even though I'm something completely different did it change who I am? Is my personality any different? What about my voice? Julie it doesn't matter if your a monster or a human you are still you on the inside. The personality that you sculpted through your life is still there. You may look different when you transform but your still the same Julie we know and love." he said as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Alucard..."

He wanted to go on but then the doorknob began to jiggle as her father began calling out to her.

"Sweetie please open up." he begged.

Once he let go of her shoulders he began walking back towards her closet.

"Try looking at things in other perspective. Try opening your mine." he said before he closed the door.

After what he had just told her she now had a bit more courage to face her father. Even if he did lie to her he was still her dad. Once she got up she walked to the door and unlocked it before he opened it.

"Julie please don't run. Just want to talk with you about your mother." he said as he grabbed the chair Al had been sitting in.

"It's OK dad. Please I want to know more about her." she said as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"Alright then well your mother was very sweet and caring. It was quite a few years ago when we met. She was fighting with a rogue over a Dark Matter Artifact when I arrived on the scene. I guess you could say I gave him a piece of my mind when I chopped off his arms. She was grateful, if not a bit proud. We met several times afterward s until we began hanging out and visiting each other. Eventually we fell in love and got married. Want me to go into detail as to how you were made because let me tell ya it was really exciting."

"No no dad. Please no." she replied with as she laughed a bit.

"Hah yeah I guess not. Anyways I loved your mother very much and when she was killed my heart shattered into a thousand pieces, but they came back together when I returned home and found you in your crib. Just a small child but you looked a lot like her. I wanted to protect you so that you could experience the human world for yourself so I gave you this form that very same day. As the years went by I saw how happy you were as a normal human so I didn't tell you. I wanted you to live a normal life but what's done is done."

"I'm sorry for the way I acted. I...wait did you say my mom was killed? By who?"

He seemed to have trouble telling her but instead he pulled out a metal orb.

"This will explain everything."


	20. Chapter 20 Mother

Chapter 19

Mother

Date: March 26, 1996

Place: Yokai Counsel

Location: Yokai City

Reason: Sentencing of the criminal Kiron Mihaki.

The day had finally arrived, the day that the nightmare would end. After over a year of trying to track down their perp they finally managed to catch him and bring him to justice and with all the evidence they had against him there was no doubt that he would be receiving the death penalty for his crime. What he had done was unforgivable and if it hadn't been for the brave Rorik and his team they might not have been able to catch him. They could only hope that after the meeting had concluded that they could all return home to their families and see their precious children.

Above in the human city it turned out to be pretty damn chilly but down in the underground city it stayed reasonably warm. The lights above always kept the city at a good 75 degrees so they didn't have to worry about their fingers and toes freezing off. Getting closer to the counsels building people were already beginning to enter as the big three closed in. Rorik was stopped however by his wife for a second as she straightened up his uniform.

"Hey now come on Emilina." he said as she straightened his collar out.

"Now sweetie you know you have to look respectable for the members of the counsel. You don't want to look like roughed up Vlad over there don't you?" she asked as she let go.

Oh how he hated being talked about behind his back. It was true however, with his uniform jacket unbuttoned and his pants sagging a bit he definitely gave that impression.

"Hey now I'm respectable, I just have a different way of showing it." he responded.

"Yeah we get it you're a vampire. That still doesn't excuse your rough look. Let's just hope your son learns better now come here and let me fix you up."

Rorik only watched as his friend hissed at his wife as she ran after him in an attempt to straighten out his look. It was just another typical day for them but they were a team after all so they were stuck with each other for the time being. It didn't take long for them to reach the counsel's building which stood taller than any building in the city with statues on each side of the stairs and made from marble, the only building made from that material. So now it began.

As they walked in the three managed to catch some eyes as the young vampire and magnam made their way to the front of the room where two desks and four chairs sat. The three councilmen had yet to arrive but they sure were there on time as Rorik and Vlad sat at the front while Emilina sat behind them in the first row to watch. The building was filled with the sound of others conversing as they awaited the arrival of the big three and their criminal. Once she sat down Emilina decided to let down her hood so that her dark red hair could flow down as those purple eyes sparkled in the light. Compared to human females she was perfection, not only did she look great but she was loving and caring even if she had a bit of a rough side.

"So how long is this going to take again? My son and daughter are waiting for me back home with their mother." asked Vlad as he laid his head down on the table.

"Hm, well since all the evidence has been presented I would sat maybe thirty minutes to an hour. Either way we should all be home soon." his friend responded.

Those two were always the same, if they were arguing they were complaining with each other. Being around them though really comforted her as she was the only one of her kind left except for her lovely little girl. Being only two years old she hoped to see her grow up onto a fine young woman and find a man of her own one day.

"So Vlad how are those kids of yours doing? Are they still teething?"

"Oh yeah Alucard already got one of his fangs and it hurts like hell when he bites."

"Heh he takes after his old man huh?" responded Rorik.

"Hey I may be over four thousand years old but I still look twenty three. I still look just as good as I did back then." he boasted.

"Yeah we all do, that's the price of being a monster though."

Their conversation ended though when the big double doors opened behind the councilmen's stands. Taki, Worshi, and Felini were their names, three men who knew the laws of the new world quite well and if any of them were broken they knew the exact punishment to bring down on those who committed the crimes. Their faces were never seen under the pure white cloaks but they were all different heights with Felini being the shortest, Woshi being in the middle and Taki being the oldest and tallest.

Once everyone had been seated they raised their hands and slammed them down on their stands to signify that the meeting had begun. Once everyone's attention were on them Taki motioned the nearest guard to bring in the prisoner. As he walked through the doors everyone's eyes were on him as he just glared at them with a creepy grin on his face. They were safe though for their criminal had on a pair of cuffs that locked away all his powers until he could be put into a cell with the same properties or put to death.

"So it's finally come down to this. Well this shouldn't take long." said Vlad as he kicked his feet up onto the table.

"Yeah, after so long we finally managed to catch him and now he's nothing more than a rat in a trap." replied Rorik.

Once he had been seated at the table right across from him his eyes darted directly towards Rorik who just ignored him. How could someone of his own kind do such terrible things? After they had vowed to protect the city he used his own power to threaten it.

"Welcome my friends, today we are here for the sentencing of Kiron Mihaki. It's been a long few months but I assure you today justice will be served." said Taki as he pulled a single sheet of paper out and handed it to Woshi.

"Kiron Mihaki, you have been convicted of the murders of numerous humans including ten males, twenty females all raped and killed, and forty children. All were found dead with no evidence of a human weapon being used on them and from their bodies we were able to gather small strands of essence that was connected to your own magic. You used her magic to escape us but in the end that wasn't enough to escape your fate." said Woshi.

"Do you have any last words before we reveal your sentence?" asked Felini.

The build fell into silence as Kiron stood up only to chuckle at their words.

"You all are fools. Back in the good days the humans were terrified of us. We use to rule the land! Now look what's happened to this planet, they've turned it into a shadow of its former else. Rise up my people and let's take back our world!" he exclaimed.

Even though he spoke nonsense no one even uttered a word except for Vlad who couldn't resist.

"I think he's gone Senior Co co Puff now." he whispered to his partner.

But once the silence returned the three brother stood up as their eyes focused on him.

"For the crimes you have committed the counsel has saw fit only one punishment. In twenty four hours you will be burned at the steak until death befalls you."

Well since it seemed that everything was over it kind of made them wonder why they were there in the first place. Perhaps the counsel just wanted them there to witness their sentencing since they were the ones who caught him, but still what needed to be done had carried out and with everything done they could return home.

Since his fate had been sealed all that had to be done was to send him back to his cell until his execution the next day, but as he was walked towards the double doors both Rorik and Vlad began getting a strange feeling. They both weren't taking any chances as they readied their weapons in case anything went wrong.

"He's up there. To our left." said Rorik.

"Yeah, let's just..."

But before he could finish both of the guards fell to the ground with thunderous force as both Rorik and his friend turned and fired their weapons at the statue. They were right, hiding up on top one of the statues had been a Kaisu, a monster that could shoot out poison darts from its finger tips.

"Heh and you call yourselves protectors?" they heard Kiron say.

When their eyes turned to him they saw that not only had the darts hit the guards but that thing had also used them to destroy the seal inside of the single keyhole. With the seal no longer in effect their enemy could use what power he had to escape.

"Oh hell no you're not getting away again!" shouted Vlad as he pulled the trigger once more at him.

At first it seemed he had hit his mark but then his head began to pulse as his body began to move on its own. The gun dropped from his hand as he was forced to his hands and knees while the smoke cleared. When he looked up he saw Kiron there just smirking at him.

"A vampire bowing to a lesser monster? What a twist." he said as he kept his opponent on his knees like a dog.

With his attention on Vlad however it gave Rorik the perfect distraction he needed to attack. Using the lights around them he launched an electrical attack at him as everyone ducked.

"Oh please, such an armature move." Kiron muttered as he dodged out of the way only to counter with his own wind blast.

That wouldn't do much against his foe though as he jumped over it and using his own magic began encasing him in the marble flooring. It twisted and encased his body up to his neck before it stopped.

"Alright now that you have him could you help me?!" yelled Vlad as he tried to regain control.

With his body encased in the marble he couldn't move his hands to use his magic, but as soon as he took a step away he felt his own head beginning to pulse as he was moved to his hands and knees, not only him but everyone in the stands as well as the three brothers bowed to him.

"Damn it Kiron, why betray your own kind?" grunted Rorik.

"I betrayed my own kind?! Your the ones up there defending the humans, the ones who hunted us! With my new order humans will be extinguished!"

"You're insane...if we don't stop you someone else will..." replied Vlad as he began pushing himself up.

He couldn't go against it for long and before he knew it he was back on his hands and knees.

"If you're not willing to stand by my side then you're just another human."

In one blast the marble shattered as he brushed the dust off his shirt, but when his eyes drifted upwards towards his little cohort who had helped his escape.

"That's about it my friend you're free to go..."

But it was too little too late. By the time his friend had received the message his body was sliced in two by what looked like a black scythe. His eyes followed it as it returned to its owners hand.

"Emilina!" shouted Rorik as he struggled to move his arms.

He recognized her but something was different about her. The dark red color of her hair had disappeared and was replaced with a combination of black and dark purple while the whites of her eyes turned completely black, her eyes no longer had pupils and were only two thin purple ovals, and the flesh on her arm from her elbow to the tips of her fingers had turned black.

"I knew it. At first I thought you were merely using dark magic but now I know...Dark Matter Princess!"


	21. Chapter 21 A Nightmare Born

Chapter 20

A Nightmare Born

Like hell she was going to let her friends get killed by him, like hell she was. With her trusty scythe in one hand and her container strapped to her back she seemed well prepared as they began to engage in battle. Just from standing across from him though she could feel his magic pressure, it wasn't anything to sniff at but if they were going to finish the job she needed to stop him from leaving even if she had to execute him herself.

"Emilina was it? Oh such a pretty name but tell me will your power be enough to stop me..."

She didn't waste any time attacking as she threw her scythe once more only to cut his cheek slightly as he escaped. With his magic of the wind he was fast but there was still one major flaw. Once she felt that breeze behind her she turned around as her hand inflated and with as much force she could put behind it she knocked him to the ground before her hand returned to its normal size.

"You're still an amateur. You should have known that wind wouldn't be down here. Now come quietly or I'll have to use deadly force." he said as he held her weapon towards him.

"Heh really? You might want to use your ears more my love."

He was right once he stopped speaking she heard a silent hiss coming from below her. He hadn't meant to attack her he just wanted to keep her off guard, but even so she was still too fast. With one jump up she avoided the explosion that came close to hitting the others but she wasn't done yet. Before she could hit the ground Kiron's staff began shifting until it was a total black blade. With each thrust and swipe she defended with her blade of her own weapon before she spun around and grabbed him with the blade of her scythe and threw him back down.

With the large cut across his back his blood began spilling as she landed across from him completely unharmed. Those eyes, they didn't contain any sympathy for him. She didn't care whether he lived or died as long as he was stopped before he could cause anymore harm. With everyone else around forced to bow only she could stop him.

"You really think humans are weak compared to us? They may lack the strength and durability of our kind but under it all they are still the same. My love and friend vowed to protect the humans from scum like you and I will as well." he said as he brought up her weapon for the finishing blow.

Too late, with a flick of his hand he send her flying back into a wall before he grabbed his blade. Those yellow eyes weren't the eyes of a magnam but instead the eyes of a demon. Those of one who only sought destruction and control.

"Indeed they may be similar like us on the inside but even you must admit that if we were to ever be discovered that they wouldn't look at us as equals." he said as he raised his hand up.

With one blast of fire he completely engulfed her as her two friends watched in horror. There were no screams just a faint black figure that laid inside the blazing inferno.

"Damn it girl..." Vlad grunted.

Was she really gone? No she was stronger than that and they both knew it. As he turned his back the flames began to disappear to reveal something very unusual. Instead of his foe there was a ball of some sorts on the floor.

"What is this...some sort of trick?"

Then from out of nowhere needles began rising from the ball before the very same flames he used to try and kill her were fired back but instead in neat little orbs. It fired around ten at him before the orb broke up into some kind of black goop.

"You shouldn't underestimate the power of black matter." he heard as the liquid began rotating around her body.

"Emilina!" Rorik cheered happily as he saw his own wife finally use her powers.

"Silence!" shouted Kiron as he forced his pet back down to the ground.

As she walked towards him he began shooting off even more attacks whether they were wind, earth, fire, water, or shadows but attack after attack she simply absorbed them with her black matter before she began using it to form her own attack.

"This is your punishment for trying to escape your fate. Kiron, you will spend eternity in Hell for your sins!"

With one fist she punched him straight up into the air before she took aim and fired. Using all the attacks he had used on her she used the power of the black matter to fuse their attacks together into one massive one. As soon as it finished melding the goop retreated as a ball composed of all the elements blasted him to kingdom come.

"Alright barbecued Kiron! We're eating good tonight right buddy?" yelled Vlad.

As the smoke began to clear Rorik began to feel that something wasn't right. If he had truly died his spell over them should have been lifted. That's when things took a turn for the worst.

"Emilina behind you!"

Just as she turned around she was forced forward onto her stomach as her own weapon slid across the floor. Just from looking at her he could tell she was out, but if that was the case then... No he couldn't let that happen! Not after having a child together. Not after having helped her collect those artifacts. His body was weak but he could feel Kiron's grasp on him getting weaker. Using his hands alone he began pulling himself across the floor towards his wife.

"Damn it..." he grunted as his arms began to give out.

No he couldn't stop, even if the muscles in his arms were torn to pieces he would reach her before him. Using all of the power he could muster be began using his legs to push himself along as Kiron's voice echoed inside his mind.

"Awe isn't this sweet? Two lovers that are about to die together. It almost brings a tear to my eye."

As he closed in on her he felt something warm hit his face. He couldn't see it but when he reached up and wiped it off he saw it wasn't saliva but instead blood. As he looked up his eyes widened as he saw Kiron holding his wife's scythe as he impaled her through the heart.

"Such a shame. If she had surrender I might have kept her alive to be my love pet. Oh well, see you around almighty Rorik." he said as he left the building with nothing but a sinister laugh.

Her eyes as already begun to fade as he reached over to caress her face.

"Rorik...please." she begged.

From the look on her face she just wanted one kiss before she left, but before their lips could even tough her body collapsed into dust.

"No...no come back..please come back." he whimpered as he made it to his knees with her clothes.

"Emilina...damn it Kiron I'll tear you to pieces!" yelled Vlad as the spell broke.

Back outside though Kiron began making his way back to the exit where he could be free once more. Those fool really thought they could stop him? Using the shadows that lined the city he began to close in on the elevator when he felt someone push him out and back into the real world before another kicked him across the ground.

"Who in the living hell..." he groaned as he got to his knees.

Suddenly wood from the builds around him began to separate and ensnare him as a seal appeared on each peace. With this all of his spells were useless to him. Once his body had been covered from head to toe in wood four single planks surrounded the wood as symbols began to glow upon them.

"You think you can do whatever you want just because you have powers?" he heard as he saw his old friend jump from the shadows.

"Rorik, let me out of here right now!" he growled as he began to struggle within his confinements.

"Like hell we are dude. You just royally pissed off my friend here and now you're going bye bye."

Inside Rorik's eyes he could only see vengeance as he approached him with his hand open.

"You killed several humans and now you kill me wife. Today I will end it!" he hissed at him as he grabbed his skull.

"W-What are you going to do with me?" asked Kiron in fear.

"I'm sending you to a realm where nowhere is safe. The Nightmare realm." he said as the symbols began to glow even brighter.

"You can't do this! Only the counsel can...!"

"Screw the counsel! For what you did to her and all the others you will spend your eternity rotting in this realm!"

From within the wood he could feel his body beginning to dissolve as the lights got brighter and brighter. The last thing she saw was his head crumble before the memory faded away. As soon as her room came back into view the mechanical sphere closed shut as the glowing orb vanished.

"Don't you see why I did this now sweetie? When I saw your mother die before my eyes I couldn't even think about how I would feel if you were suffer the same fate. I wanted to protect you so I gave you this form and walled you off from the world of monsters."

"It's OK dad, I understand. Maybe I should look at this in a new light." she replied as she looked towards the closet.

"Hm, but I still want you to be careful OK? Even if that Alucard is protecting you he's probably just as bonkers as his father is."

"You don't hate him do you?"

"No, but he can be a bit...cocky? Is that the right word?"

"Heh heh yeah that's about it."

Just when they thought they were finished talking though they heard a loud grumble come from the closet.

"Oh what are you hiding in here now?" he asked as he nudged his fingers at the closet doors.

"Dad wait..."

The doors didn't stop though as they opened up to reveal Al as he sat on the with his hands over his stomach.

"Heh hey there Rorik. How's it hanging?" he asks as he stood up.

"...Maybe I should ask you the same thing. What are you doing in my daughters room...?"

The truth was he had no answer? He was just there as a kind of surprise present but that hadn't worked out too well.

"Well you see I...yoink!"

With one jump from the closet he flew over both of them and out the window until he skidded down the house next to them and landed safety on the ground.

"Hey see you tomorrow alright Juls?!" he yelled as he began running away before he got his ass burned, quite literally.

As she saw him run away the words that he had told her ran through her head. Perhaps being a monsters wouldn't be so bad.

"Yep just like his father." said Rorik as he closed the window.

Perhaps being his partner wouldn't be so bad once she began training right?


	22. Chapter 22 Partner Up

Chapter 21

Partner Up

As the day begun for Ela everything seemed back to normal after their little fiasco the previous night and it seemed everyone still intended to have a good time. Even so that didn't mean she didn't take any extra precautions just to be safe. With that hoodlum out in the city she didn't want to take any chances of more of those things getting in. As the music played and everyone began to chill though she was there watching what she could only describe as clash of the neanderthals.

"I'm not doing it!" Jerell yelled as Al grabbed him from behind.

"You are doing it!" he yelled back.

"I'm telling you I'm not doing it!" scowled Jerell as he forced them both to roll over one of the eating tables.

"Get up, you're a guest in our club you you will do as I say!" exclaimed Al as he wrapped his arm around his neck to give him a good choke.

As they both fought his sister just sat on the sidelines and watched as the continued to beat the crap out of each other. That was until Julie showed up.

"Oh hey, whatcha doing?" she asked.

"I was just coming by to talk with you guys but it seems you already have your hands full." she said as she watched the two roll around on the floor as they scratched each other.

"Yeah, but it's best to let them work out some steam."

As much as she didn't want to see them get hurt just watching them both fight was kind of funny. Normally they were really kind to each other but it seemed that they hated each other.

"So how did this all start again?"

They were distracted though when Alucard grabbed his friend and pulled his arms all the way back behind his back.

"I brought you your book now what are you going to bring!?" he yelled as he stomped on Al's foot to get him off before he turned around do put him in a headlock.

"The pain!" he responded as he rammed his knee right into his friends crotch.

Once he his body went limp he had him. With one push he forced him down onto the nearest table only to break it before he pulled him back up. With one arm around hid neck and the other holding his arms behind his back Jerell had no choice but to admit defeat.

"Alright, alright I'll get it for you1" he gasped.

Once he let him go he gathered his breathe as he walked over to the bar.

"Hey what was all that about?" asked Julie as he dusted his jacket off.

Suddenly a fresh blood bag was sent hurtling towards him before he caught it just before it could hit her face. Now that they both had drinks in hand they could sit down and relax. There was still one thing missing though.

"Could you get me my chips?" asked Al.

"...Never!"

And it was back on with Al leading by grabbing his friends beer and splashing it in his face before he grabbed for him. Using their fists they began punching at each others necks.

"Shouldn't you stop them?" asked Julie.

"Yeah I guess your right. People are already starting to look anyways."

All she had to do was grab the back of the heads and slam them together. Once they were down their senses began to return as they stood back up with their heads slightly bleeding.

"Now listen you two you both are almost eighteen, if you want to settle a fight take it to the ring." he said as she grabbed Jerell's remaining beer.

Their heads were pounding as they stumbled back to their booth before their eyes focused on the strippers. They sure were some fine nekos but Al's focus was broken when he heard Julie's voice beside him as she made her way down the seats.

"Oh hey what's up Julie? Still getting use to what happened yesterday?"

"Oh you know when you find your dad using his own magic to cook french toast and bacon nothing really goes back to normal." she replied.

Just from looking at her though she seemed to have returned to her cheerful self with that nice smile of hers. Still he couldn't have imagined what had been going through her mind when she was told the truth. To find out that she wasn't a human but instead a monster like them all, that must have been some heavy crap for her. It was nice though that she got over it and so fast too.

"So what do you want to do today? Wanna go to the arcade or go relax in the hot tub. Oh I know you could wear the bikini again and get on the stripper..."

But before he could even finish his sentence she gave him a nice smack to the face with her fist. He was only teasing her though. He knew she would degrade herself like that but damn.

"Actually it's about this whole blood partner thing. You said that I would be training with you right?"

"Yep that about sums it up." he said as he squirted some of the blood into his mouth.

"If I was to become your partner would this allow me to unlock my real powers?"

"Probably, but you don't want to risk your life like that right?"

His biggest fear if she was to become his partner was that she would lose her own life in battle and for someone so innocent he couldn't let that happen. She was still only seventeen and still young, if she died then it her blood would be on his hands.

"Yeah I think I do."

As soon as she spoke the words he almost began choking on his drink before he was able to swallow it.

"Are you insane Julie? Don't you know the kind of danger you will be in?"

"Yes but like your dad said you need a partner if we're to stop Nightmare's awakening. Isn't that what he said?"

"Yeah but...what if you're not strong enough? What if you end up dying? Being a partner isn't just about trust it's about looking out for each other. If you were to die then your blood would be on my hands." he said as he sat his bag down before he got up to walk to the pool table where his sister was.

"But like you said you would be training me. I can't quite explain it but something inside me is just pushing for me to do this."

He wanted to reply but as soon as he opened his mouth his little sis spoke up.

"Well, well you two are thinking of tying the knot?" she asked.

"If you mean by "tying the knot" you mean becoming partners then no."

"Oh really? I remember a year ago you were losing hope in finding a partner and now that you've found one you don't want to go through with it?"

"This is different though, she's my friend and I can't let her get hurt like she did last night."

"In case you've forgotten we've got a rogue out there with a demon inside of him that may just destroy humanity if we don't work together. Don't you think making her you're partner may be a good idea and besides we will be training her all day until she's ready." she said as she knocked the white ball into the others.

She had a point. If Nightmare was released it would take the power of them all to possibly bring him down but still. His uncle use to tell him that in life he would have to make hard choices and that those choices would probably effect the other person, maybe this was one of him. If she was so determined to unlock her true power and to help them then who was he to deny her the opportunity to better herself? "Fine, but she isn't going into battle until she knows at least one full set of moves. I'm not going to take any chances." he said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Do you really mean that? You're going to help me?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah..." he mumbled as he picked up a pool stick.

"Oh thank you! I know you may be worried about me but don't worry I'll make you proud." she said with a smile as she jumped back over and into the booth.

As he lined up his shot he saw that Ela was giving him the funny eyes.

"What?"

"Don't act like I don't know. You care about her don't you?"

"OK yeah I care about her but only as a friend alright? Can we just play now?"

"Sure you do..."


	23. Chapter 23 The Contract

Chapter 22

The Contract

As night fell upon the house of vampires and the moon began its ascension up into the star filled sky both Ela and Jerell were working on perfecting the contract seal. Since they didn't want to do it out in public what better place was there to do it than in their own back yard. With the seal almost completed and the moon up high above them the night was perfect for just such an event. Three years ago his little girl signed her own contract and now his oldest child was about to sign his own. It was a proud day in vampire history when one man could partner up with such a lovely young lady.

"So is the illusion all set up? No one can see us?" asked Vlad as he sat back in his chair with his mug of middle aged blood.

"Unless we invite them in it will appear as if we're having a party and nothing more." he replied.

With a tap of their mugs they returned their attention to the seal. It had to perfect or else the contract wouldn't work and they would have to start all over again and waste another day creating another one. Though everything seemed to have been running rather smoothly. No wind filled the air and the humidity was barely present.

"So where are the two now?" asked Rorik.

"Oh their just preparing themselves. After today they will both have to work their hardest. In the mean time though maybe you would like to take on a night shift along side me?"

"You mean to look for the punk who almost killed my daughter? Sure I can, but if we find him I get to finish him."

"As long as I get his body."

"Deal."

Once they bumped their fists together they were to supervising as their two little friends finished up. Once they sat down the candles around the circle and lit all fifty it was about time for it to begin. For their sake though none of the candles would fall and set the lawn on fire resulting in a collapse of the illusion.

"Are you sure you're little girl is ready for this? You just told her two days ago that she was one of us, aren't you worried?" asked Vlad.

"Hell yeah I'm worried but you were as well when your children began fighting remember? In fact if I recall I remember you asking me to send you into Counter City just so you could spy on them."

"Heh yeah, good times. Still I'm sure she'll be fine. Alucard is usually pretty vigilant when it comes to his surroundings and surely he won't let her get killed."

"Yeah, about your boy do you know where I found him the other night?"

"Not a clue, but I imagine either at the club or on a girl." he replied as he chugged his drink.

"He was inside her closet hiding from me..." he said in an annoyed tone.

"Well I certainly had nothing to do with that. I'll have to have a talk with him after this is all over."

For as many years as he had known the old beast he knew that tone of voice. Of course it was all his idea for his own son to sneak inside their house and watch her while she slept. It was Vlad though so he must have been all knowing in that field...of women. Once all the candles had been lit and the symbols had been embedded in the ground both workers walked over and collapsed to the ground.

"What's wrong with you two?" asked her father.

"What's wrong? We spent the entire day clearing out this place and we had to create the seal which took forever. I think we're a little tired after all of that." replied Ela angrily before she dropped back to the ground.

Their bodies were worn out and being out in the sun didn't help with her strength either. Still from the look of it everything seemed up and ready to go. Now all they needed was their young vampire friend and his partner. Sure enough though after only three minutes of the seals completion both Al and Julie came out with Julie wearing a weird black and purple dress of some sort.

"Dad what's with the dress?" she asked as she tried to cover herself.

"What, it was your mothers dress. She said she wore it when she was your age so I thought why not." he replied as he drank the rest of his beer.

"I must say old friend your wife had a great taste in clothes." followed Vlad.

Even though he didn't want to look at her Al had to admit at least in his mind that she looked pretty cute and sexy in that dress. It was almost like the bikini event all over again. All he had to do was look up and over to see her two wonderful suns.

"Come on sweetie I just wanted you to look nice. Don't you want to look good for your partner?" her father asked as he gave Al a deadly glare.

While she did respect her father she hated how revealing the outfit was. With out perfectly it fit her body anyone could make out the small details of her body especially her chest.

"Hey come on, you look great." said Al as he tried to hold a smile as at the same time holding the blood back from leaking from his nose.

Just seeing her in that dress was enough to send his senses into overdrive especially when that much of her was revealed. Not only could he smell the sweet scent of her tangy blood but he could see a lot more than he usually could in her normal outfits, of course nothing could beat what he saw a few nights before at the factory. He wasn't weird he just couldn't help but admire a beautiful girl when he saw her.

"Awe my little boys about to sign his contract." he heard his mother say as she came up behind him to give him a big hug.

Great, now his mother was going to overreact to what was about to happen. He could feel it too as she squeezed him with all her strength.

"Alright sweetie let him go before you pop that head of his off." her husband suggested.

Even as she looked at the seal in front of them she could still remember the very day she and her loving hubby sealed the deal. In both Al's and Julies head though they were more annoying than supportive, they were acting as if the two of them were about to get married.

"Alright let's get this show started!" exclaimed Vlad.

From what she was told they both had their own designated positions to stand her. He was on the left and she was on the right. Once they were in position though everything was set and ready to go. With the help of her father they were able to activate the seal instead of having to go get that strange necromancer that he had no purpose in seeing. Once he grabbed his staff the crystal at the end began to glow a bright red color as he gently tapped the outer circle. As soon as it hit the carved seal the light began to shoot up from the openings in the ground before he set up a nice little barrier just in case things went wrong.

"Alright now remember you both have to offer a single drop of your blood for this to work. If you have anything sharp on you go ahead and do it." said Vlad.

Since he had his fangs it was simple for him to get puncture his skin, but all she had was a hair pin that held her hair together in the back. Since that's all she had though she had no other choice. As soon as he pulled it off she pricked her index finger once as a small bit of blood began to leak out.

"Now make sure the drops land in the small center circle. If they don't the contract will not activate."

With a look to each other they both held their fingers out over the small circle before their drops could fall. Once they began their descent down they pulled their arms back just as their blood touched the very center. Suddenly the symbols began to light up as a funnel of red light began to lift them both off the ground.

"Oh yeah you may feel a slight bit of pain!" yelled Vlad as they were lifted up.

Everything seemed fine, they seemed normal until a sharp shock of pain began radiating through the center of their bodies. To hell with a small bit their hearts felt like they were on fire as the power began to flow through them both. If they died from such a thing she was going to kick his ass for all eternity.

In Alucard's end though it was even worse. Not only could he feel his power increasing but his body felt as if it was altering itself. Just from the sound alone he could hear his bones moving around as his fangs got even sharper. His dad had told him that he wouldn't have felt a thing but damn it he was a liar! Even for a vampire it was painful and he didn't even want to imagine what Julie was feeling. Their bodies began to experience what they could have only described as hell. It almost felt as if their insides were on fire until the light around them began to fade. As soon as the light had faded completely they both began drifting back down to the ground below as the seal erased itself.

"Wow, not bad." said Rorik.

All he had to do was look to his left arm to find a glowing red mark that ran all the way up to his shoulder had begun glowing. So that was the mark of blood partners?

"Damn man look at yourself." said Jerell.

"What?"

When he looked down at his body a second time though he then noticed that he had changed and it wasn't only his clothes. His shirt grown in length while a dark blue coat with two navy belts hung down from the sides while symbols covered the collar of his outfit. Not only that but his pants had also turned black. What he couldn't see though was his hair had turned jet black while the whites of his eyes turned the same color, but his eyes were no longer red but instead a bright yellow color.

"Did you grow taller too?" asked his mother.

He did seem a bit taller from his normal six foot one height but as for what he felt inside he felt relatively normal. Then it hit him. When he looked over to his new partner she wasn't moving as the mark on her right arm began to glow as well.

"Hey, Julie wake up." he said as he patted the side of her face.

When her eyes opened though they all breathed a sigh of relief. For a second there they had all though she had died.

"Huh, what happened and why does my head hurt?" she asked as she held her aching head.

"Well it started with a bit of pain, then went to a lot of pain but now you're ok." he replied as he helped her up.

Once they were back on there feet they had to know how they had changed.

"Are you feeling any different?" Rorik asked his daughter.

"Hm not really. What about you?"

"Nah I feel the same as well but now we have matching marks." he said as he compared the two.

"Alright enough talking let's see what kind of new tricks you have son." his father asked as he picked up two cinder blocks and chucked them at him.

Upon instinct he swung his fists forward only to hear a soft crackle sound. Not only had he destroyed the block but with only one fist it had been turned into a fine powder.

"Good now let's try this!"

Now what was he going to chuck at him? A bolder? A broken T.V? Nope instead he grabbed his ride-able lawnmower and chucked that at him. Was he insane?! Apparently not for when he threw his other fist forward he destroyed the vehicle before it could touch either one of them.

"Jesus, an entire lawnmower?"

"Heh I guess so."

It didn't end there though. His back began to feel kind of strange as his jacket began to twist and turn. From the small slits in the back sprung two large bat wings.

"Wings? Why couldn't I get those?" Ela asked disappointingly.

With just a kick off the ground though he began soaring through the air and the faster those wings flapped the faster he went.

"Oh yeah this is where it's at!" he exclaimed excitedly as he landed back in his feet in front of you.

"Oh yeah now that's nice. What about your weapon though?"

That was right, when one signed a contract the vampire was to get a new weapon to use in battle. The problem was that the only weapon he had on him was his Stinger and that had been given to him so where was it?

"What's that on your arm?" asked Julie.

At first he thought she was merely teasing him but when he raised his arm he saw some kind of device on it. It lacked a blade or gunfire so what was it? Well whatever it was he wanted to know so when he turned to his right and aimed it right at a nearby tree he pulled the trigger in his mind.

"So what's suppose to happen?" asked Jerell.

"Shush and wait." his girlfriend said as they watched.

Suddenly the sound of rattling chains began echoing through the air. Confusion surrounded them at first but when they looked around his body they saw it. The chain had come from his device and not only that but the mouth at the end had grabbed a hold of a tree three yards away. That sure was nifty but when he tried to pull it back the tree came with it as it closed in on the small group.

"Yeah you might want to do something." said Rorik.

He was about to as well when a blast of dark energy rushed past his head and completely destroyed the flying tree. He hadn't fired it and from the look of it neither did anyone else, but when he turned to Julie he saw her right arm. It no longer was covered in flesh but instead a hard shell that glowed a red and black aura.

"Oh man, that's pretty sweet Juls." he said as he began looking over it.

"Thanks, but what is it?"

Never had any of their flesh changed before like that and from what his father could remember neither did any other vampires. Just from looking at it though Rorik could feel the power of the dark matter surging through it. It looked to ran up all the way to her elbow then stop. The shell that made up her arm sure was hard though and if she unleashed a blast that powerful on her first try there was no doubt she could become stronger just as he had.


End file.
